Now I know who to consult on the following:
I have these listed already on eBay, but I have no idea if the $49.99 starting bid is too high.
Yeah... OK. Here is the lesson on Olympic pins...
First, They peak in value at the Olympics, and decline rapidly in value after the games. Within a year or two of the games, MOST of the pins have no resale value. Those people who want them have gotten them or they have given up looking for them. The longer the time period after the games, the lower the price until you get to be about 30 years after, then SOME start to get SOME value again... Most do not... A key is if the Olympics are going to be held in a country that had them before, the pins from before start to get some value (Look at pins from 1998 Nagano Japan to gain in value as we get closer to 2020 Tokyo).
Second. Pins come in several varieties. There are pins from Sponsors, teams, media, internal, and souvenir.
People who come from the companies that supply stuff for the olympics, sponsor the Olympics, etc are often supplied with pins by the company. Some are collectible, most are not. I would say about 99% retain NO value after 5 years. I buy them in large lots if I can get them for less than $.10 per pin to use as traders.
Team pins are pins given to Athletes from the National Olympic Committee when they attend the games. They are used to trade with other athletes, and to trade with Collectors. These are more difficult to get and tend to be higher priced. MOST keep SOME value (many undated pins are $3 to $5, some rare countries are more. Pins with dates are generally more prized, and have higher prices). These pins usually have national symbols and are very interesting to look at and collect (You can go to
NOC Pin Website to see pins from different countries from different years. Many are really neat. Generally they were made in the issuing country (if was for the Thai team, it was generally MADE in Thailand)). The USOC (United States Olympic Committee) generally gives pins to people who donate, and those are very common. They also make pins for the athletes, those are generally collected. I would say that about 10% or less are worth MORE than $5 per pin if they are undated, or more than 5 years old.
Media pins are like Team pins, except they are given to members of the media who are covering the games. There are TV pins, Radio, Newspaper, magazine so on. Again, you can only get them by meeting someone from that outlet and trading with them. They are generally very collectible, and again, about 10% are worth more than $5 when more than a few years old. I just sold some media pins from 1988 calgary winter games, and the market was very strong (about $10 per pin average over media and team pins). Watch out for Sports illustrated pins. They had 2 sets in 1984 and 1988, the 1984 pins were dated, the 1988 were not. They were given if you buy a subscription. They have almost no value.
Souvenir pins are those made to sell in stores, They generally have no value after the games (less than 1% would be worth more than $1, I generally buy them in Large Lots to use as traders and I try to pay $.25 a pin or less).
NOW... That all being said, the pins you have are ALL Souvenir pins except for the USA Shield, which is a donor pin from the 1970s. It is worth about $5 since it is old, but common. It may be hard to get that for it since it is very common (I've seen several bags of 100 pins for sale on Ebay). The large Sydney pin is nice, and MAY auction for $5 because it is big, and sydney pins are generally a bit better than average. The other sydney pins you may get $5 to $10 for the set of 4. The Atlanta pins are dirt. I bought my fill at $.03 per...
End, yeah, $50 is probably too high, but there are always surprises on Ebay. It could sell... If you are looking to dump, lower to $10 or $15 and see if you get bites. Wait until just before the 2016 games and advertise them as a traders lot... Pins that people can take to the games and trade for other pins.
