Name: Steve Berke

From: Florida, USA 

How long have you been collecting? 20 years

How many pins do you own? 2000

In 2006, my father and I travelled to Torino, Italy, for our biennial father-son Olympics trip.  Being long time pin traders, the beginning of the Olympics is always the most exciting time to be trading pins. No one knows what any of the pins look like, so it's hard to tell which ones will be rare or more collectible.  However, this adds to the buzz and excitement of our hobby.

On the second day of the Olympics, my father and I attended the long track speed skating preliminaries.  During one of the intermissions, as a zamboni was fixing the ice, I went to the refreshments area and took out a T-shirt full of pins to start trading.  I always love trading pins at the different Olympic venues, because you never know who you might meet, and it's a great way to spread the pin-trading spirit.  After a few minutes, a tall Italian guy came up to me and said, "Cambiare?"  Being an avid pin trader, I had already learned to say "trade" in Italian, so I nodded my head yes and asked him what he had for trade.  He took out a simple pin that said Torino 2006 and had"Italia" written on it.  It looked like a generic souvenir pin that I didn't have much interest in, but I never like to disappoint anyone, and I always try to make a trade, even if I'm not getting something I

particularly collect.  Of course, the Italian guy had good taste!  He pointed to a rare Swedish NOC (National Olympic Committee) team pin! I tried to explain to him that I only trade team pins for team pins, but it was hard to communicate because he didn't speak any English. However, he eventually grasped what I meant, and soon started repeating the word "team" to me over and over again as he pointed to his shirt that said "Italia."  I put up some resistance, but eventually decided not to be rude and I accepted his trade, knowing that he got the better end of the deal.  His face lit up with excitement, and I was happy to brighten up his day.

Later that night, my father and I took out all the new pins we got that day.  It's a nightly tradition for us to "unveil" all of our new pins that we traded for earlier in the day.  I showed him the "Italian

Team Pin" that I traded for, and asked him if he thought it was real. Since it was only the 2nd day of the Olympics, we didn't know, but we both agreed that it was probably just a generic pin that anyone could buy in a souvenir store.

A few days later, my father and I were having breakfast and I turned on the television.  Long track speed skating "Team Pursuit" was live on television, and the Italian commentator was yelling like he was about to win the lottery!  I couldn't understand what he was saying, but his voice kept increasing with excitement after each lap.   I soon realised why: the underdog Italian team was about to win Italy's first gold medal of the Olympics! As the Italians sped across the finish line, they took off their spandex hoodies, looked up at the scoreboard, and smiles covered their faces as they realised that they

had just won their first Olympic gold medals!  And as they were smiling and hugging each other, I realised, that just a few days earlier, I traded pins with Enzo Fabris, a member of this Italian speed skating team who went on to win another gold medal just a few days later.  What I originally thought was a bad trade for a "fake" NOC pin turned into one of my favourite Olympic stories of all time!