Bid pins – are issued by the organizing committee of a prospective host city to help promote awareness. There are no Olympic ring on big pins created by a city that has not yet won designation from its National Olympic Committee, unless it has used them unknowingly. Logo designs often change after a city has been awarded the Games. (Sydney 2000 Summer Games bid pin)

NOC pins – issued by a country’s National Olympic Committee, particularly collectible NOC pins are those that are historic or those from countries that send few athletes to the Games. There are 2 main types:
Dated NOC pins – which are identifiable by logos, years, mascots, host-city names or Roman numerals specific to one Games.
Generic NOC pins – which are undated, often the same design is used for several consecutive Games.

IOC Pins – When it convenes, the International Olympic Committee issues session badges to individual participants and simultaneously releases a greater quantity of session pins. The International Olympic Committee also issues badges for executive board meetings and Olympic Congresses as well as pins to commemorate such special events as the Olympic Centenary Celebration held in June 1994.

Sponsor pins – also called corporate or supplier pins, these are created by the companies that help underwrite the Olympic Games. Series of sponsor pins from a single company, such as The Coca Cola Company, can form the basis of an entire collection. A subcategory is VIP or guest pins; given by sponsors to top executives, guests and clients, these pins admit the wearers to special functions and confer other perks.

Sport pins – This category comprises pins issued by NGB´s (a sport’s national governing body) and IFs (the international federations that regulate NGBs) as well as team pins issued by NOCs. There are also federation sponsor pins, which bear the logos of corporations that sponsor NGBs, and sport pins that don’t bear the Olympic rings and that may have been produced for competitions other than the Games. Some people collect by sport, others by country.

Media pins – Newspapers, magazines, TV and radio networks, and wire services covering the Games issue pins featuring their name or logo. Some collectors pursue only print pins or only broadcast pins; others go after all U.S. media or only foreign media.

---