Although there are numerous sub-categories of Olympic pins, I like to break them down into about six main divisions. In my own mind I compartmentalize every set or pin into Games Mark, Sports, Sponsor, Mascot, Commemorative, or Countdown. Some collectors look for pins of a specific type. These types can be in sets or individual pins.

Games Mark pins have a version of the official logo of a particular Olympics somewhere on the pin. The Games Mark helps identify a unique Games and usually reflects elements commonly identified with the host city or region. For instance the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing uses a stylized version of "Jing". Jing comes from Beijing and the figure in motion reflects the ancient Chinese art of calligraphy. In many of the Candidate City and Bid pins Jing had the five colors of the Olympic Rings. The Official Games Mark has Jing in white on a field of red, which is the color of the National Flag of China. Beijing 2008 usually appears on this type of pin and leaves no doubt about the Olympic edition it represents. Usually there are more Games Mark pins produced than any other type.

Collecting pins is a blast.  But uninformed eBayers are being ripped off by unscrupulous sellers every day.  Although it seems that the vast majority of Scrapper and Bootleg pins are associated with people cashing in on Disney's phenomenal success with pins, other areas are also being abused.  Familiarizing yourself with some great resources and realizing that some people don't know the meaning of honesty and ethics will help keep pin collecting the enjoyable hobby you want it to be.

Unauthorized Pins

Dizpins and PinPics lists 1850+ Disney pins they consider Unauthorized...pins that The Disney Company has not sanctioned.  There's over 200 Coca-Cola pins that are considered unauthorized and nearly that many McDonald's pins.

A few pins are innocent creations by fans who don't understand copyright laws; but most are created by people seeking to make a fast buck off the good name of these corporate giants.

Although the majority of information you might need to determine interest in an Olympic pin will be found on the face, don't overlook the fact that many pins have specific information on the pin-backs. Often pins will have production levels, factory marks, copyright holder, pin number, or other information on the backs. Even the type of fastener can sometimes determine the Olympic Edition the pin comes from.

Production levels are often important in deciding the value of a certain pin. If you don't have a catalog with specific information about it you might find it on the back. Many 1980 Moscow Sports pins have the production limit in 1000s. Most 1996 Atlanta pins use the last number in the ACOP identifier as the production limit. The lower the number is the fewer were made. Many 2000 Sydney pins had low production levels which can be found on the pin-back. An example is the Pictogram/Mascot spinner pins. These were limited to 1000 and are marked as such on the back. Many 2004 Athens Sports pins had production limits of 25,000. That might seem like a lot of pins, but remember that these are distributed around the entire world. Some Olympic Editions don't have production levels on the pins. You have to determine the number produced from the pin catalogs. Please also remember that all Olympic pins do not reach their maximum production levels. A particular pin from Atlanta might have a much lower number produced than is reflected in the production level.

Although I certainly can't consider myself an expert on Olympic pin collecting, I would like to pass on some basic information about them in a short series of guides covering production types, manufacturers, categories, fasteners, and backstamps.

There are a number of production methods for Olympic pins. Cloisonné, Semi-Cloisonné, Soft Enamel, Die-Struck, Photo-Etched, and Photo-Dome are all popular methods.

Cloisonné pins require a complex process. The first of this type can be traced back centuries to China. The base metals used are copper and brass. Copper is the most common base metal. Color is provided by mixing powdered glass with purified water. The resulting paste is applied to small wells (cloisons) one or two colors at a time. The pins are then baked at an intense temperature. As one or two different colors are added with thin bamboo pens, they are fired again. The process is repeated until all the colors have been added. The finished pins are sanded until the surface is smooth. The colors are somewhat limited in cloisonné pins. There are about 110 which are widely used.

Semi-Cloisonné pins are made with essentially the same method except colored epoxy resins are used instead of powdered glass. There are almost unlimited colors available because of the resins. Other names for Semi-Cloisonné are Epola, Hard Enamel Cloisonné, and others. This is arguably the preferred production method currently used by the major manufacturers. Often these are plated with 24K gold.

Bid pins are perhaps the most varied Olympic pins available to collectors. They are certainly finding a popularity that wasn't enjoyed prior to the 1996 Atlanta bid. Starting with those, candidate cities began producing promotional pins in earnest. Not only were they simple and effective ways to promote their bid, but they were a source of pride and excitement across the prospective host nation. Many were perhaps motivated by the seemingly insatiable demand for them around the world.

There is a 3-stage process which lasts for many months. Each stage is a logical building block for the next.

Applicant City: The National Olympic Committee-NOC proposes selection, along with an official letter from the specific city, directly to the International Olympic Committee-IOC. An extensive questionnaire covering the city's plan for the Games is completed and returned to the IOC for study. This phase lasts about one year, during which various committees determine the city's potential to actually organize an effective Olympics. Federations play an important part by determining if the sports venues available and planned meet minimum competition requirements.

Sports pins grow more popular with Olympic pin collectors each year. Almost every Olympic fan has one or more sport which they avidly follow. Every modern Olympic Games have produced individual pins featuring the sports competed. In this small guide I would like to concentrate on the Sports Association and Federation pins produced by the Olympic Committees.

Structure-Individual federations for every Olympic Sport exist in most nations that compete in the Olympic Games. Some are called associations. These national federations administer, promote, schedule competitions, and select their national and Olympic teams for each sport. In turn these national federations are members of international federations. These organizations do many of the same things, but on an international level. The international federations are members of broader groups, such as The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), The Association of International Olympic Winter Sports (AIOWF), or The Association of the IOC Reconized International Sports Federations (ARISF). These are administered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It might sound confusing but think of the structure as if it were government. Municipal government is a part of county government, which is a part of state goverment, which is a part of the federal government.