My Mission

Got CokePinz?

My Mission & How I Got Started...

The SodaPins.com Mission Statement: To have the largest and most complete collection of Coca-Cola Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games pins that one could possibly have. I know that's a rather large task to accomplish, but I'd say in my five years of collecting that I'm doing pretty well, don't 'ya think?

A little history about me: My love affair with collecting Coca-Cola items goes way beyond pins, but I got started with Coca-Cola pins in early July of 1998, when I found some Coca-Cola Nascar pins on eBay. I bought 6 pins for $2.50 each, and figured I would keep one for myself and trade the other 5 for other Coke pins. I had been buying, selling and trading commemorative 8 ounce glass Coke bottles for 7 or so years, with people all over the US and overseas, so the idea of trading 'things for things' wasn't new to me. I knew I could trade my extra bottles with other bottle collectors, so then why couldn't I trade my extra pins with other pin collectors? Less than a week after I bought those 6 Nascar Coke pins on eBay, I found a listing on eBay for Coca-Cola's "Official Pin Guide of the 1996 Olympic Games". From that moment forward, it's been a whirlwind adventure.

Once I got the "Pin Guide" in my hands, I was absolutely amazed! There was so much variety, so many styles, there were just so many! I hadn't really decided to collect only Coca-Cola Olympic pins at that point in time, but the decision was soon to follow. I started watching the Olympic pin auctions on eBay, and bidding on general Atlanta pins that caught my eye. On the last Sunday, in July of 1998, I went to a local antiques and collectibles show that's always a prime spot for finding Coca-Cola items. It was there, on that day, that I found the "old car in the old woman's garage" so to speak. I was walking past a seller's table, who was selling vintage war memorabilia, and I noticed a box on the ground. Being that I never leave a stone unturned, I stopped and started poking through the box. Low and behold, I started pulling out Atlanta pins by the handful! Venue pins, limited edition flag pins, countdown pins, mascot pins, you name it and it was there. All total, I got over 50 pins for $25. I came home and immediately started finding them in my "Pin Guide" and realized that I had hit the pin jackpot.

In August of 1998, I ending up buying 2 brand new Coca-Cola Atlanta Olympic t-shirts on eBay, and from that point on I've been hooked on Coke! My collection focuses on 1996 Coca-Cola Olympic pins, but I've gotten to the point where I'll buy or trade for any pin that has the Coke logo. Past, present and future Olympics, as well as plain old general Coca-Cola pins too. I don't really care too much for pre-1996 Olympic Coke pins, because they're a little too plain for me. In other words, I don't hunt those pins down, but if they fall into my lap, I'll gladly take them.

Nowadays, I devote almost all of my spare time to finding Coca-Cola pins that I don't currently have in my collection, as well as other unusual non-pin Atlanta Coke items. Considering I live in Pennsylvania, finding pins in my area has been quite a challenge. I normally buy most of my pins, but if I should happen to have a pin that you need, let me know and we can work out a trade. I do a lot of my buying on eBay, but I also hunt down other pin sites from various pin pages and locate pins that way too. If you have any Coca-Cola pins that your looking to sell, e-mail me. I'll buy anything that I don't already have and possibly some that I do, just to use as traders. Trust me when I say that I'll give your pins a good home!

Last Updated : October 14, 2002