The part of my job that really makes everyone else at LOCOG jealous is that I always get to see all the pins we're making earlier than anyone else.
I'm writing this blog post because on 27th of July we'll be launching one of our most exciting pins so far – a very collectable limited edition pin marking three years to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.
We're only going to produce 3,000 of them, and they'll be available to buy in the Museum of London shop and Runner's Need and Crest of London outlets from the 27th. The Museum of London will also be adding this pin to their existing collection of Games memorabilia.
There's a great tradition of 'countdown pins' in the Games, most of which become very collectable nearer Games-time.
I first got to know about Olympic pins fever during the Beijing Games. As an example of returns on investment, pins were produced for 1,000 days to go which initially retailed for 22RMB, but due to its rarity some collectors later paid over 3,000RMB for it on the second hand market!
Apart from the 3 Years To Go pin, we'll also be launching quite a few other pin designs, including sets on the themes of London landmarks, flowers, teapots, music festivals and the weather (a personal favourite).
These themes reflect a universal trend in Olympic pins. They tend to fall into two broad categories - pins depicting sports and Olympic or Paralympic culture; and pins depicting the culture and landmarks of the host city. So in Beijing, there were pins about Chinese characters, Beijing landmarks and Chinese food. For London 2012, without wishing to give anything away, you might expect to see designs based on anything from London Markets to Punk.
I think I've given away enough secrets for the time being. The only other piece of advice I have is, anyone after a recession-beating investment should consider investing in a London 2012 3 Years To Go pin. They might be a small souvenir made of copper, nickel and enamel, but they're worth their weight in gold.
