It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the vast array of Olympic pins, and as the hobby expands, even more varieties will appear on the scene. But for now at least, most collectible Olympic pins fall under these broad categories. Commemoratives, also called souvenir or event pins, they’re usually, though not always, issued by an Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games. Most go on sale to the public long before the Games begin. Commemorative pins comprise the following subcategories...

Cultural Commemoratives – honor aspects of the host city’s local flavor or its famous sites. (Russian dolls from Moscow 1980)

Logo or emblem pins – depict the official symbol or elements chosen by an Organizing Committee for its Games. (Atlanta Torch 1996)

Historical commemoratives – celebrate past Olympic Games icons and events. Look for many in conjunction with the Centennial Games such as the 1924 Paris Games poster pin.

Unofficial commemoratives – are usually issued by public agencies and other peripheral groups within a host city, such as the transit authority or a local museum; these pins require no licensing fee to produce and as a result usually carry no Olympic symbols or words.

Countdown pins – are also called milestone pins; they mark the number of days left before an Opening Ceremony. This genre originated at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer.

Venue pins – depict the locations of competitions, as seen above in a pin of the bobsled-and-luge venue at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville.

Bridge pins – debuted in the 1980´s; they combine the official marks, such as logos or mascots, of two consecutive Games, as in the Lillehammer-Atlanta bridge pin.

Mascot pins – highlight the figure(s) chosen to personify the Games.

Pictogram pins – show the symbolic representations of the Games sports and host city services.