Olympic Collector Events Upcoming

Major Olympic collector events are competing for attendees in the upcoming months.

The first is the 20th World Olympic Collectors Fair, to be held in Lausanne May 23-25. The event will coincide with the meeting to establish the Association Internationale des Collectionneurs Olympiques (AICO).

The Olympic Museum can no longer host the fair because of its recent renovation, so collectors will gather in a tent on the Place de Navigation in Ouchy. The space, which has room for about 80 tables, is 800 meters from the museum and close to public transport and hotels. Security will be provided.

The cost is $115 for a table and $55 to attend the dinner. Attendees will be able to tour the museum and can take part in a silent auction with some items donated from surplus material in the archive of the museum. Attendees will receive a preferential rate at the Continental Hotel.

For information or to receive an application for registration and table holders agreement, contact David Maiden.

The official 2014 Olympin Show, the 33rd in the club’s history, will be held in Los Angeles July 25-27 at the Courtyard by Marriott Westside. The club has reserved more than 3,500 square feet in three contiguous meeting rooms, which will accommodate about 40 tables. The cost for an eight-foot table is $150 with a six-foot table at $125.

A limited number of rooms are available at a discounted rate. For information, click here.

Olympin members are also invited to participate in the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland from July 30-Aug. 30, which is a quick turnaround from Los Angeles.

"The National" is the largest sports collectibles show in the world. For Olympin to participate, it must guarantee at least 20 tables at a cost of $200 each.

Historical Items at Swedish Auction

A very scarce IOC badge with provenance from the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and a letter written in English and signed by Pierre de Coubertin highlight the latest mail bid auction from Ulf Strom of Sweden.

The gold-colored badge, which has a white ribbon with the inscription "CIO," belonged to Ivar Nyholm, secretary general of the Danish Olympic Committee and IOC member from 1922-31. It carries an estimate of $8,500.

The de Coubertin letter, dated 1894, is addressed to Albert Shaw and discusses Shaw’s admiration of his work and the unreliability of the French media. It has an estimate of $1,500 and is included in an archive with the general program from the First Olympic Congress ($2,000), the first bulletin of the IOC from July 1894 ($1,800) and the second bulletin ($1,500).

The four items together have an estimate of $6,800.

Also rarely seen: a pair of 1984 Los Angeles torch relay mother flame safety lamps ($7,500); a starter’s badge from the 1908 London Olympics ($7,500); and the official diploma awarded to Monsieur Poymiro, the athletics consultative committee member for the 1900 Olympics ($6,000).

Olympic champions’ medals from 1908, 1912, and 1952 ($6,500 to $7,000 apiece); plus an organizing committee badge from 1972 Sapporo ($4,500) are among the other big-ticket items in the 148-lot auction.

The auction closes April 4. For information, email Strom.

Pin Authenticity Project

Wondering if those NOC pins you picked up in Sochi are genuine? The Olympin Authenticity Project assesses the legitimacy of pins seen at the 2014 Olympics and also on eBay. The website shows photos of the pins, tells whether an NOC has confirmed their authenticity, and reveals which eBay dealers are selling questionable or fake pins.

For example, a pin that looks suspiciously like the Samsung nesting dolls but is yellow and says "Spain" was not produced by the Spanish NOC and is being offered only by eBay dealers in Spain.

The website also includes a comprehensive list of NOC pins from the 2012 London Games.

Contact the committee for more information.

Written by Karen Rosen

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