Only 3,000 pieces of the highly collectable pin are to be made.

 

It will only be available at a few exclusive retailers and through promotions.

 

The remainder of the pins have already been distributed to top British athletes and officials.

 

Previous Games have seen rare countdown pins like this one achieve a second hand value of hundreds of times more than the original retail price.

For London 2012, 12 different pin designs will be released to the public by Honav, the Chinse company appointed last year to make the badges, and many will be limited edition.

 

These designs will represent London, the UK, and every part of the London 2012 Games – from culture to sport, from the environment to education.

 

Some of the designs will be limited to only 2,012 pieces, so very few people will be able to collect all the designs.

Recognising the unique significance of this pin, Professor Jack Lohman, the director of the Museum of London will officially accept this piece of Olympic history into their Museum’s collection at 3pm on Monday July 27, three years to the day that the 2012 Games will open.

 

The Museum of London tells the story of London and its people, spanning 450,000 years.

 

There will also be an all-day display of Olympic memorabilia in the Museum.

The Museum of London has already collected Olympic memorabilia such as the London 1948 Olympic Torch, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch, and the rare Beijing 2008 to London 2012 handover Pins.

Pins and pin collecting are an enormous part of Olympic culture.

 

Each Olympic Games sees thousands of different pins designed by organising committees, sports teams, media and national teams.

 

At each Games fans trade millions of pins for other pins, tickets or even food and taxi rides, both out and about, and in Olympic Pin Trading venues.

In future, two and one Year To Go Countdown Pins will be released to form a set.

 

Several other new pin designs will be launched into the retail market on August 1.