Coke and Olympic pins
It’s been said that Olympic pin trading in the Number 1 spectator sport in the world. I think that’s true. At the Games, you’re so in the moment, trying to remember what you’ve seen and done, and it’s very easy to get caught up in the frenzy of pin trading.
Like Coca-Cola, pin trading really is a great way to bring two people from different cultures together. You don’t even have to share a common language, because you actually can just point to the pin you want – just like sharing a Coke.
There’s a great complete history of
We created the first Coca-Cola Official Olympic Pin Trading Center at the 1988 Games in Calgary. More than 17,000 visitors gathered daily – not bad for our first center!
In 1988 in Seoul, Korea, Coke sponsored two pin trading centers and a nationwide contest among Korea’s 11.7 million students to design the first-ever commemorative pin for the Opening Ceremony.
At least 1.2 million pins were traded during the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Later that year, at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, the number of visitors to the pin trading centers increased to over 500,000, representing more than 70 countries, and more than 2 million pins were traded at the Coca-Cola Official Olympic Pin Trading Centers and “PinMobiles.” (Back then, the Winter and Summer Olympics took place in the same year; they weren’t spread out like they are now.)
Coke continued to help pin traders find a good “home” at every Olympics since 1988. In Athens in 2004, the Coca-Cola Official Pin Trading Center made its 10th straight appearance at the Games.
This month in China, pin trading continues, with a series of Coke pin trading activities in four places in Beijing. You can see more about the Pin Trading Center for the Beijing Games on the
The photo I’ve included here is of our wall of pins in the World of
My name is Phil Mooney, and I've served as the historian/archivist for 
I have a framed 22 pin historic summer game series from Athens 1896 to Barcelona 1992 would this be a sought after item? I have a fair bit of various Coca Cola items our family business made display stands for Coke from the 70', 80' & 90's and we had a close working relationship with a display company in Atlanta. One of the many items we made was the replica cooler that was green on casters with red signs I believe from the 1930's. Me being a neighbour to the north of you, I guess the market for French Coke products is somewhat limited?
Posted by: Tim | January 16, 2009 at 05:18 PM
Tim - Great to hear from you. The best way to find the current value of your pin set is to check today's prices on an auction site such as eBay. Generally, Olympic pins are not worth as much as you pay for them during the Games, but the price can vary greatly. I did see an increase in value for Olympic items leading to the Beijing Games. As for the French Coke pieces, there are collectors who are specifically interested in international pieces, and some who are do not collect them. Again, that's another time when checking current auction prices would give you a good idea of their popularity in today's market. Thanks -- Phil
Posted by: Phil Mooney | January 16, 2009 at 05:52 PM