Pin trading is a huge deal at the Olympics — here's what you should know about the 122-year-old tradition

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• Olympic pin trading is as much a part of the Olympics as the sports themselves.
• Olympic pins date back to the first Summer Games in Athens in 1896.
• Everyone from athletes to spectators to journalists all take part in the pin trading tradition.
• Knowledgeable pin traders said the most coveted pin from the London 2012 Olympics was one that featured a tiny Pikachu.

Figure skating and ski jumping aren't the only big draws for this year's Winter Olympics. Everyone from world-class athletes to event volunteers can be seen sporting tiny, colorful enamel pins.

Read on to see how the tradition of Olympic pin trading got started.

For some, Olympic pin trading is as much as a spectacle as the games themselves, and you don't have to be a world-class athlete to get involved.

Spectators, athletes, reporters, volunteers, and pin-traders all take part in the Olympic tradition that is pin swapping.

Olympic pins date back to the first Summer Games in Athens in 1896, according to the International Association of Olympic Collectors.

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