1984 Los Angeles Olympic Pin ~ Spirit of 84 Eagle and Torch ~ Designs by Margarita

A 1984 Los Angeles Olympic commemorative pin by Designs by Margarita, "Spirit of 84." A white-headed American eagle spreads its wings over a green and blue globe, with a white Olympic torch and red flame at the center, framed by a gold laurel wreath. The California state flag, with its red star, flies on the left and the American flag on the right. A gold banner across the bottom reads "SPIRIT OF 84."

The story behind this pin: This design took three tries, and four years, to reach the 1984 Games. According to the 1985 Pin Collector's Guide, Designs by Margarita first made it in 1980 under the name "Olympic Spirit," with that wording on the banner. Only about 1,000 were made before it was discontinued in 1981, when the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) objected to the use of the word "Olympic." The LAOOC guarded the Olympic name and symbols closely. The same page of the guide shows Margarita reworking other designs after LAOOC objections too, including World Angel (for its partial Olympic rings), All Nations and Victory Torch. The designer changed the banner to "XXIII Games," for the XXIII Olympiad, and only about 500 of that version were made. In 1983 the design was reworked a final time with the banner "Spirit of '84," and this is the version that made it to the Games, with about 2,000 made. This pin is that final version, and its back is stamped "© 1984 Designs by Margarita Taiwan." The third photo shows all three versions as pictured in the 1985 Pin Collector's Guide.

A note for guide owners: On page 54 of the 1985 Pin Collector's Guide, the photo numbers don't line up with the text. The photo labeled #328 is this "Spirit of 84" pin, while the text for #328 describes "Olympic Spirit," which is pictured as #329. "XXIII Games" is pictured as #330, and this pin's text entry, "Spirit of '84, redesigned in 1983," is listed as #330.

• Year: 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics
• Maker: Designs by Margarita (source letter "C" in the 1985 Pin Collector's Guide)
• Design: Eagle over a globe and Olympic torch, laurel wreath, California and U.S. flags, "SPIRIT OF 84" banner
• Style: Enamel, gold tone, cut to shape
• Size: approx. 1 1/8" x 1 1/8"
• Back: Stamped "© 1984 Designs by Margarita Taiwan," brooch bar clasp
• 1985 Pin Collector's Guide: photo #328, text entry #330, page 54
• Approx. quantity produced: 2,000 (1985 Pin Collector's Guide)

Packaging

All orders shipped in corrugated box for extra protection, we don't use bubble mailers.

Shipping

U.S. shipping is $4.95 flat per order, and free on orders of $35 or more.