For the first time in Olympic history, trinket collectors have their own official retail space. For many, hoarding Olympic memorabilia is a gold medal sport in itself
“I have been trading with badges and medals“, explains Robert Prat, from Monaco, to ‘Euronews Culture’. This collector 87-year-old has “a collection of around 5,000 Olympic pins from all over the world.” The former fencing coach plans to divide his time between watching sporting events and meeting other collectors.
However, manage such a treasure It is not an easy task, since it requires organization and space. “I keep all my collectibles in shoe boxes stacked all over the house. “My wife liked to buy shoes, so it was a good compromise,” she says, laughing.
Scrolling through his tablet, Prat proudly shows off his meticulously organized pinslined up in red shoe boxes: “I only take to the exchange the pieces that I have as doubles. My most important objects they stay at home, for me it’s about meeting like-minded people and admiring their collections,” he adds.
Paris hosts the first official space for collectors
For the first time in history of the Olympic Gamescollectors have their own exchange space, located in the fan zone of the Park of Nations, north of Paris. Here, collectors from all over the world they can unite around a shared passion.
“Stamps used to be the most popular collectible item, but now the pins are more so. However, a collection can have anything, as long as it is related to the Olympic Games“says Stéphane Hattot, President of the French Association of Olympic and Sports Collectors (AFCOS).
Hattot’s personal reserve is considerably heavier than a bag of pins: to transport it he even had to attach a trailer. “I’m crazy for weightliftingI brought some olympic weightlifting to display them here. Some not only weigh more than 100 kg, but are more than 100 years old.”
Olympic memories began in 1896
The American gymnast Simone Biles attracted the attention of his followers when he brought a gold olympic pin series with his name to trade in the French capital. But this frenzy over Olympic memorabilia is far from new: it is said that athletes wore cardboard badges -similar to today’s pins- during the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896.
“The objects that were created for the 1896 Olympic Games are very different from those that are being manufactured for Paris 2024. That’s part of the interesting thing, we build our collections to tell a story“says Catherine Salaün, vice president of the French Association of Olympic and Sports Collectors.
Salaün describes herself as “a superfan of the Olympic Games”, which she has attended 14 times, including the winter and summer editions. “Paris is number 15,” she says with a beaming smile.
A way to subsidize Olympic tickets
The cost of attending the Olympic Games can quickly amount to thousands of euros. Therefore, for many collectors, the exchange can be a way to earn some money to pay for the trip.
“I’m wearing pins that I haven’t paid a lot of money for. If I sell or trade them, I can reduce the cost of my trip,” explains Scott Reid, an Olympic collector from the state of Georgia, in the United States. He has an entire room dedicated to his collection in the basement of his house.
For those who cannot go to the official headquarters, the exchange can take place anywhere and everywhere, says Reid. “If you see someone with a bag or a lanyard with pins, it means you can approach them and talk to them, maybe exchange something.” While he may make some money, for Reed it’s all about “the interactions and meet people from all over the world: that is the olympic spirit“.
