25/11: Pin Meet 12

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Railway Tavern yesterday and made the latest pin meet a success. I think we had between 25 and 30 collectors there at the peak with a mix of old and new faces. The free Lloyds TSB pins were popular and we would like to thank Lloyds TSB for offering them to us.

Thanks too to Jan and the team at the pub for making us feel welcome as always and allowing us to use the room for free.

I think most people there made a few decent trades and felt that the journey was worthwhile.

Talk turned to the next meet and I think we can probably manage one next Spring and then one at the first anniversary of the Opening Ceremony on Saturday 27th July 2013.

Keep an eye on the blog for details of dates and times.

17/11: London 2012 Pins on M and M Direct Site

Earlier this month, a reader spotted a website selling London 2012 merchandise. Click here for the original post.

A few readers have emailed me to say that this website is now selling a few London 2012 pins too. Click here to view the 'gifts' section.

They seem to have a few venue logo pins, some venue pictograms and a couple of venue sports poses.

The irony is that the sitting volleyball pin was nowhere to be seen for the first few days of the Paralympics, then was one of the most desirable pins for a few days as people tried to find them once they were released. Now they are in the 'bargain bucket'.

If only the distribution and retail process had been a little more thought through, then the collectors would have got the pins they wanted without the frenzy and the silly prices on eBay and the retailers would not be forced to sell at knock down prices.

Perhaps this may be the website where we finally see the pins that could not be found during the Games?

15/11: Another Sponsor Freebie Pin - P&G

I'm pleased to say that another Olympic sponsor has offered us some free pins. Proctor and Gamble have offered a number of pins to readers of London Pins.

At the moment, I do not know what design or designs they may be. I will not receive them until early December, so to those of you coming to the meet next week, I'm afraid they will not be available.

I think I will get enough to send them out and also keep sufficient until the first meet next year, so no one should miss out.

So, those of you that have emailed me asking for the LTSB pins, please don't worry if you don't hear from me immediately after the pin meet later this month as I will wait until the P&G pins arrive before I get back to you all.

Thanks to P&G for supporting us like this and if any other sponsors would like to get in touch with any pin offers, we would be happy to hear from you.

13/11: Requests for LTSB Pins

I've had a number of emails from people asking me to send any spare Lloyds TSB freebie pins as they cannot make it to the meet. I appreciate that the website and blog are supported by many of you who cannot easily get to London for a meet, so I'd like to help where I can.

In order to distribute the pins from Lloyds TSB as far as possible, I'm happy to send out pins to those that ask.

Once the meet in November is over I'll send out the remaining pins to those of you that send me a stamped addressed envelope. One pair to each person that writes. PLEASE DON'T SEND AN ENVELOPE JUST YET!!

Drop me an email to info@londonpins.co.uk with your name. I'll keep the emails in the order that they arrive and then when I know how many pins I have left to offer, I'll email you back with my address so you can send an envelope.

Please remember that pins in an envelope can get damaged and I don't have the time to package the pins in bubble wrap. I therefore suggest you send a padded envelope with 'Large Letter' postage. The pins are individually wrapped in cellophane, so will not scratch against each other. I cannot be responsible for pins that get lost or damaged in the post or for insufficient postage. I will not be able to offer recorded delivery or obtain certificates of postage.

Hopefully this means that more collectors will be able to share in Lloyds TSB's generosity.

Watch this space - we MAY have another sponsor who can offer some pins too. More details to follow when I can confirm.

10/11: Pin Meet - 24th November - Free Pins

I'm very pleased to say that one of the most supportive London 2012 sponsors - Lloyds TSB has offered us some pins for the next meet on Saturday 24th November.

Everyone who can make it there will each receive both pins LLY0041 and 42. These were pins issued during the Olympic and Paralympic games. There's no need to sign up to get them, just ask on the day. Obviously the supply is not limitless, but there should be enough for everyone based on previous attendance.

Don't forget, we are at the Railway Tavern in Stratford, but with an earlier start time than usual. We begin at 12.30pm, so you may want to combine the meet with some lunch.

Hope to see lots of you there.

4/11: Not Pins, but London 2012 Merchandise

Thanks to a reader, here is a link to some end of line London 2012 clothing from a company called MandM Direct.

Some very good prices there if you're looking for some Olympic or Paralympic T-shirts.

23/10: Next Pin Meet - November 24th - UPDATED TIME

STOP PRESS: The time of the meet has been brought forward to 12.30pm due to a function in the pub conservatory later that day. However, if we want to continue after 4pm, we can move into the bar (space permitting).

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It's only 5 minutes since we had the last pin meet, and already the next one is in the calendar!!

I asked for feedback at the last pin meet (both on the day and via the blog), as to when we should aim to get together again. A few people thought early next year would be good and would give everyone a chance to find new traders. However, the overwhelming majority thought we should ride the wave of enthusiasm and have a mete this side of Christmas.

So, I've approached the Railway Tavern again, and they have kindly offered us the venue on Saturday 24th November 2012 starting at 2.30pm. Thank you Jan and the team.

I'm not going to bother maintaining a sign-up list any more, as the chances of us getting freebies is zero, but if you want to drop me an email to info@londonpins.co.uk to confirm you'll be there, it will help me gauge numbers and enthusiasm - it' up to you.

So in summary...

• Date: Saturday 24th November 2012
• Time: 12.30pm - 4.00pm
• Venue: The Railway Tavern, 131 Angel Lane, Stratford, E15 1DB
• Cost: Free (but please support the pub by having a drink or two)

I hope that lots of you will be able to make it and that the new faces that came last time will want to come back for some more.

14/10: 11th Unofficial London 2012 Pin Collectors Meet

Yesterday we held our 11th pin meet and it was the first time we have gathered since the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was great to see so people there, over 50 this time, as well as so many new faces. Around 70% of the people who came were new to one of these meets.

There were lots of trades carried out and many people were able to fill gaps in their collections. Many people were very focussed on certain themes and I spoke to collectors looking for NOC, media and sponsor pins as well as those trying to find some of the elusive retail designs that did not appear during the Games.

Lots of people I spoke to caught the collecting bug whilst attending an Olympic or Paralympic event and wanted to know more about the hobby. Hopefully they found the group welcoming and will want to come back to future meets.

We would like to thank Jan and the staff at the Railway Tavern for hosting us once again. They let us move the furniture around to make it more open for everyone and looked after us brilliantly - thank you.

Opinion was divided on when to hold the next get-together with some thinking that we should keep interest going by meeting in late November, whereas others though that early next year was a better time to allow people to find some more pins to trade. I'd welcome opinions from readers either by a comment below or by email.

One thing we did agree on is that we should hold a '1 Year' trading event in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park when the first phase opens next year on Saturday 27th July. People felt that a picnic/pin trade event would be a good idea. So if you are interested, keep the date free in your diary. You can read more about the park and the timescale for opening here.

Thanks again to everyone who came along and enjoyed the day - hopefully you'll be able to make it to the next one.

9/10: Retail Pins Added to Catalogue

It's taken a while, but I have finally updated the retail part of the catalogue as far as possible with all the pins that came out during the Games.

The latest update contains...

Venue Sports Pins - mascot, venue and pictogram boxed sets
Venue logo pins
Sports pose pins
'Venues at Night'
National flags (pictures to follow)
Aminco retail

I have listed all the pins in the ranges and provided images of as many pins as possible (I'm still trying to track a few down and photographs them.

The grid has been updated with all the new images, but be aware there will be pins listed in the catalogue that do not show in the grid as I do not have images at the moment.

This latest update contains 290 images and almost 500 listing updates hence the time it has taken to complete it.

Thank you for bearing with me and I'll try to fill in the gaps in the images as soon as I can.

I will now be moving on to the internal, partner and media pins. Updates as soon as possible.

1/10: More Venue Pins at Glamorous Living

It seems that more of the elusive venue collection pins have appeared at Glamorous Living today. Thanks to a reader, news that some Gymnastics sports poses pins are now on sale.

The 5 pins in question were not widely available during the Games but have now appeared on the Glamorous Living website.

I would imagine that there will not be many of these sets available as the pins were limited to 2,012 each and potentially SOME were sold during the Olympics.

29/9: Next Pin Meet - 2 Weeks to Go

Don't forget that if you would like to come to the next Unofficial London 2012 Pin Collectors Pin Meet, we get together in two weeks - on Saturday 13th October.

We are meeting from 2.30pm at The Railway Tavern in Stratford. Click here for the original invitation and details.

I'm pleased to say that at the moment we have 34 people signed up to join us, that's the biggest pre-registration we've had. Not only that, but almost 60% of these are 'first-timers' who got the pin collecting bug during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

So, if you're still not sure if a pin meet is for you, rest assured there will be plenty of people joining us for the first time, so why not come along and try it out. If you're able to join us and have posted here or on the message board, why not come and try to enhance your collections with a little pin trading?

Hope to see you all there.

24/9: Sale at Pins and Things

I have been asked by John at Pins and Things to let you know that they are having a clearance sale on their website.

All London 2012 pins have been reduced by 1/3 (except special offers).

Tak a look at the website for specific prices.

21/9: Catalogue Updates

More catalogue updates have been made on the website...

• All the Coca-Cola retail pins (still waiting on Paralympic Pin of the Day Bottle Cap)
• Map of the UK
• Picnic Rug

This will be the last update for a few days as I'm now working through all the venue specific sets containing mascots, venues and pictograms. I will not upload these until I have all the pins listed and photographed.

If any of you managed to get the sets for Athletics, Dressage and Shooting would you please get in touch so I can confirm some details please.

19/9: Picnic Jigsaw Set

You wait ages for a jigsaw set to appear, and then two come along at once!

Another new set of pins has been released. This time 3 pins join together to form a picnic rug complete with basket and food.

Click on image to enlarge

The 3 pins are numbered 1802, 3 and 4 and are each limited to 10,000 pieces. Although they form a set, they are each on their own card.

Once again I am unable to confirm stockists or availability at the moment.

18/9: Map of the UK Puzzle Set

The Games may be over, but one of the best sets of pins we have seen (in my opinion) has been released - a puzzle/jigsaw set of the UK.

Click image to enlarge

This collection of 10 pins forms the map of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with icons for each region picked out over a Union Flag design.

The individual pins, numbered 1115 to 1124, are

• Highlands
• Scotland
• North East
• North West
• Northern Ireland
• Wales
• Midlands
• East of England
• South West
• South East

Each pin is limited to 10,000 pieces and they are on individual cards.

I have no details of availability or stockists.

16/9: Catalogue Updates

The retail part of the catalogue has been updated tonight with more of the pins issued just before and during the Games. In particular

• Pride the Lion Sports
• Team GB/ParalympicsGB venue collection
• Braille logo
• Welcome taxi, bus and telephone box
• Olympic/Paralympic Village
• Media Centre
• London Icons/Sports
• Thank You
• Chalk Hills
• Countdown
• Ceremonies
• Sports Shots

Pin 1125 - Braille Logo

Some new pins have been listed and some pins that were already listed have had images updated or details added. Click here to see the updated grid.

Now that the Games have finished and I have more time, I will aim to add updates twice a week until the catalogue is up to date.

7/9: Venue Sets at Glamorous Living

Thanks to a reader, news that some of the venue boxed sets are now available at Glamorous Living. They appear to have a Marathon Swimming set (3 pins) and Equestrian Pictograms (3 pins)

Images from Glamorous Living

Click here and go to the bottom of the page.

This raises the question if other sets will appear soon as well as whether other retailers will start to stock these sets too. If you see any others, please get in touch.

30/8: Paralympic Sports Poses

Following on from the range of sports pose pins available for the Olympics, London 2012 has issued a range for the Paralympics too.

The pins available (in the Olympic Park stores) were...

Athletics - Sprint

Athletics - Sprint (Visually Impaired with Guide Runner)

Athletics - Wheelchair Racing

Athletics - Shot

Athletics - Discus

Athletics - Javelin

Athletics - Long Jump

Atheltics - High Jump

Wheelchair Rugby

Wheelchair Tennis

5-a-side Football

7-a-side Football

Shooting

Swimming

Wheelchair Fencing

Wheelchair Basketball

Equestrian

Wheelchair Archery

Sailing

Judo

Road Cycling

Track Cycling

Table Tennis

Rowing

Goalball

Boccia

Apologies for the descriptions - they are mine and not whats printed on the pins!

I could not find pins for Sitting Volleyball or Powerlifiting although I imagine they must exist.

It looks like each pin is limited to 2,012 pieces.

There are also two new 'Venue Collection' pins relating to the Paralympics

Pins 1091 and 1094

These pins combine the ParalympicsGB logo and the Agitos and mirror those issued for the Olympics. These pins are limited to 3,000 (blue)  and 5,000 (gold) pieces.

30/8: Paralympic Closing Ceremony Pin - Retail Update

Some of you may know that one online retailer launched the Paralympic Closing Ceremony pin yesterday and then marked it as out of stock soon afterwards.

Therefore it has been decided to allow all retailers to issue this pin, although WHEN it is available is up to each retailer.

I suggest therefore you check out your favourite sources to see who has started to sell the pin.

28/8: Website Updates

I know I've been a bit slow with the updates since the Olympic Games ended, but I have made the first update to the catalogue today.

It's not as full and update as I would have liked, but to be honest with so many new pins, I thought it was better to make some updates and then fill in details later.

Sports Pose pins added to the catalogue

The commemorative section has been updated with many sets but only contains numbers, names and issue sizes. Pictures and backstamp details etc. will follow.

The ranges added are

Sports Poses
Venue Specific Pins
Coca-Cola
Pin of the Day
Days of the Games

Pride Sports
Street Names
Chalk Hills
and more.

The updates are spread throughout the higher pin numbers, so take a look at those pages or
at the following themed pages. These cover most of the updates

Sports
Venue
Pictograms
Mascots
UK
Daily
London

Venue Sports Logo pins added to the catalogue

I have also updated the grid pages too, but as a number of the pins do not have images yet, they may not show on the grids.

Bear with me, we will get there!

Thanks to Mike B for lots of help with the details of the commemorative pins.

As for sponsor pins, there are now updates for

Thames Water
Ticketmaster
Westfield

More to come.