1988 Calgary Hockey Pins - The Circles of Flags

A series of seven Olympic hockey pins was produced for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada that were the beginning of a decades-long trend in Olympic pins that continues today. Specifically, the pin type is what I refer to as the "Circle of Flags" pin style. These Calgary hockey pins measure 32 mm in diameter and contain the flag of each nation that participated in the 1988 Olympic hockey tournament. (The black and yellow centered versions of this pin are not shown below.) These pins are, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful hockey pins produced for any Olympic Games. In various Olympic Games following the 1988 release of the above hockey pins, the Circle of Flags pins have remained popular. The pins below represent the following Games:

• 1992 Albertville - the French rooster mascot with hockey stick encircled by flags of nations participating in the 1992 hockey tournament;


• 1994 Lillehammer - Coca-Cola 14-pin set (referenced in the "Error Pins" blog entry on April 9, 2011) including a circular flag pin layout for the 12 teams participating in the 1994 hockey tournament;


• 1996 Atlanta - A generic pin for the centennial Summer Games;


• 2002 Salt Lake City - one of a 3-pin (gold, silver and bronze inner circles) hockey set bearing several nations' flags, but not necessarily the flags of the 14 nations that participated in the men's hockey tournament (or the two additional unique nations that participated in the 8-team women's tournament);


• 2004 Greece - a Coca-Cola pin containing various nations' flags;


• 2006 Torino - an opening ceremonies pin, two hockey pins (one each for both the men's and women's tournaments, representing the 12 men's and 8 women's teams that participated in the respective tournaments),


• 2008 Beijing - a generic pin for the Summer Games,


• 2010 - two generic pins, one hockey pin with the flags of the 12 teams participating in the men's hockey tournament, and one closing ceremony pin.

I am quite certain that I have omitted several "Circle of Flags" pins, but the foregoing is a representative sample of the continuing legacy that the 1988 Calgary participating nations Circle of Flags pins had on subsequent Olympic Games.