Pin Collecting is $erious Busine$$

Olympic pin collecting means different things to different collectors. For me, I collect Olympic hockey pins. It is my hobby . . . a simple past time . . . though admittedly it borders on an obsession. However, it is also a serious business for many people. The table of pins pictured above are a few of the "high value" pins that I have seen sold recently. (I've included the price and date of sale for each of the pins, which price includes the posted shipping costs.) But I must emphasize that I use the phrase "high value" cautiously. Take for instance the Canadian hockey pin pictured in the upper right corner of the above table that sold on August 19, 2010 for $98.97. It is a nice NOC pin, though not a true cloisonne--more of a fine enamel finish. I was really glad to add one to my collection while I was trading pins in Vancouver, which is an interesting story. While standing in line to enter the curling venue I was behind a lady that was wearing a 2010 Austria Olympic Team pin. I commented to her that it was a pretty pin and in turn she insisted that I have it--she even refused to take in return a pin of mine from one of the hundreds in my trader bag that I had with me at the time. She explained that she had a friend on the Austrian Olympic team, that she could get another one, and that she was not much interested in pins anyway. I graciously accepted her gift, and we continued to have a nice chat about various Olympic events while we waited to get in to see the curling match. The next day, I was wearing my new Austrian Olympic Team pin when I was talking to a pin trader who had the 2010 Canadian NOC pin pictured above. After looking through my bag, the trader was most interested in the Austrian pin on my lanyard and so we made the trade. I did not cherish giving up the Austrian pin because it represented a neat Olympic moment for me, but I also knew I was getting a pretty decent pin in return so I thought the trade was fair. During the remainder of the day, I had several people offer me up to $200 for my new 2010 Canadian hockey pin . . . and I quickly realized that I had to remove the pin from sight so people would stop inquiring about it. To me, the pin is now part of my Vancouver Olympic experience and holds great value because it conjures up good memories of the Olympic spirit I felt while at the Winter Games; but would I have paid $100.00 or $200.00 for it? Not a chance. So, you may ask, what is the most that I have ever paid for a single Olympic pin? Well, after a little research I myself learned that the most I have ever paid was $39.00 on February 14, 2003, for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic hockey pin pictured below.

I was in Park City, Utah at the O.C. Tanner store when I saw the pin in a display case discounted from its original retail price of $130.00. It is a solid 14K gold pin created by O.C. Tanner for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. For those that may not be aware, O.C. Tanner is a high-end jewelery company that made all of the gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals awarded to the winners of the 2002 Olympic Games. During the 2002 games I had seen this pin many times, but I simply was not willing to pay $130.00 for it--even if it was 14K gold. There are a handful of pins in my collection that I have paid $20.00 to obtain, but only a few on which I have spent more than $20.00. To me, pin collecting is not about obtaining a pin at any cost. Thus, in placing a value on a pin, in my humble opinion I would counsel new pin collectors to be careful of what other people may tell you a pin is worth. There are several web sites and catalogs that estimate a value or range of values on a pin, and to me that is exactly what those valuations are--estimates. Only the individual collector can decide the value of a particular pin at a particular time. In the end, you should just feel good about your acquisition, and enjoy the spirit of Olympic pin trading.

Mystery Pins

Every now and then I come across a pin that is both Olympic and hockey related, and yet I cannot place the date of the pin. Over the years, I have collected dozens of pin books and brochures, and have located helpful website addresses (like http://www.olympicnocpins.info/), but even with these resources a handful of mystery pins elude my ability to tie them to a particular Olympic games. For instance, the pin below appears to be an Olympic NOC hockey pin from Spain, at least that is how I am interpreting the alternating red-yellow-red flag in the center of the pin. Spain has also not competed in any prior Olympic Winter Games hockey tournaments as far as I have been able to determine. In the case of this pin, the backside is entirely blank, thus providing no additional clues as to its origin. Even my email to the Spain NOC failed to produce a firm date for this pin . . . a mystery, indeed. Another such pin comes from an AHL minor league hockey team, the Lowell Lock Monsters, which made its home in Lowell, Massachusetts from 1998 through 2006. This pin was apparently produced pursuant to a sponsorship by the United Postal Service, but I have no idea of the date of this pin. The pin includes a phone number (disconnected) and website address (no longer valid) for a San Diego, California manufacturing company that appears to no longer exist.

I have about 20 such pins in my collection. I guess some things were just meant to remain mysteries.

Oh Canada!

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada were amazing. I spent five days at the Games, trading pins and taking in a few events. Along the way I of course saw all of the must-see Olympic experience sites . . . like the Olympic flame. I also saw six . . . yes SIX . . . hockey games. This site is about hockey pins after all, so you are of course dealing with a hockey nut. On February 18, 2010, my first full day in Vancouver, we started off by watching the USA and Norway play. Just being at the game, even before they dropped the first puck, was truly inspiring.

But there would be plenty of action in the game as well . . . like this goal scored by the good ol' U.S. of A.

That evening, I also saw my only non-hockey event, which was a curling match. Let me just say that it was not like anything you see on T.V. Curling is pretty wild. Curling fans are even wilder. But I don't think anything is much wilder than those pants . . .

Of course, there was plenty of Olympic pin trading in Vancouver. For a pretty hefty price, this guy was selling some very nice Russian NOC pins outside of the hockey venue on Day 3 of my trip (February 19th). And, yes, a couple days later I ultimately ended up with the Russian Hockey pin depicted in the photo.

Once inside the hockey venue, we saw Latvia and The Czech Republic in a pretty one-sided game . . . a 5-2 victory for the Czechs.

Later that day, literally from up near the rafters, we watch Finland destroy Germany (I think the final was 5-0, but whose counting).

On Day 4, February 20, 2010, we saw three hockey games including Norway v. Switzerland . . .

Slovakia versus Latvia (you've gotta love that hat!!!). . .

and Belarus v. Germany.

It was a great day of hockey, hockey and more hockey. And a whole lot of the Olympic spirit.

I LOVE THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES!!!!

Soviet/Russian Olympic Hockey Pin Dominance

As an avid Olympic hockey pin collector, some of my most prized pins are issued by the National Olympic Committees ("NOC") of the countries participating in the Winter Olympic hockey tournaments. Of all the nations that have participated with frequency in the Olympic hockey tournament over the years, none can compare with the Soviet Union and Russia when it comes to NOC hockey themed pins. Beginning with the early lower-quality enameled alloy pins that date through the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic Games (e.g., the 1956 through 1968 pins depicted in the above photo), and continuing with the cloisonne pins (which began appearing in 1972) and fine enamel pins (1992, 1998 & 2006) of subsequent years, the Soviet Union and, after 1992, Russia have consistently produced great Olympic hockey pins. After 1992, former Soviet block countries, such as Belarus, Latvia and the Ukraine, have also routinely produced beautiful NOC pins dedicated to their Olympic hockey teams. A couple of my all-time favorites are the 1998 and 2010 Russian Olympic hockey team pins shown here. In terms of Olympic pin collecting, the Russian hockey teams own the historic gold medal, in my humble opinion.

Olympic Pin Collecting . . . A Beginning

In the early 1990's, as I worked my way through college in Salt Lake City as a valet parking attendant, a patron who happened to be a member of the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee gave me an Olympic pin--it was my first. The pin, pictured here, was one of Salt Lake City's bid pins for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. Though the 1998 games were ultimately awarded to Nagano, this simple gift ignited my interest in Olympic pins. As I got more and more into collecting, I found out that there were literally tens of thousands of pins out there. Thereafter, I soon realized that I would have to focus on a particular type of pin in order to place some sort of limitation on the number of pins I "needed" for my collection. Because I have always been a hockey fan, limiting my pin quest to Olympic hockey pins seemed like a good choice. Now, what I consider to be an Olympic hockey pin is difficult to define. National Olympic Committee pins, venue pins, mascot pins, media pins, generic pins, corporate sponsor pins, "unofficial" pins and many others often make their way into my collection. Basically, if it has a hockey player on it, or has something to do with Olympic hockey, then it is collection worthy--perhaps I didn't do such a good job limiting the number of pins in my ever growing collection after all.