Vancouver 2010 Bid Pin Primer

The Vancouver Sun runs a sidebar in its Road to 2010 weekly feature called Collectors' Corner ... and seems tailor-made for this blog. Enjoy.

History: In the scheme of Olympic collectibles, pins created by bid groups are considered a specialty. They aren't generally made for retail sale, and instead are booster items bid societies use to promote their quest for a particular Games.

When Vancouver and Whistler tourism and business types first contemplated bidding for the Games in 1998, they participated in a "domestic" competition to win support of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Vancouver and Whistler's bid (which the International Olympic Committee later ruled had to be listed by only one name, Vancouver) created a square gold tack back pin with a mountain image in the middle and the words "Can You Imagine" across the top. The pin was produced by Laurie Artiss Ltd of Regina, one of Canada's largest pin manufacturers.

B.C. pin collector and historian Frank Zavarella says only about 200 of the first run were created for a press conference at the Robson Square media centre. Another pin expert, Craig R. Perlow, has documented that the pin was later produced in larger quantities.