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.