"We had some amazing interest with people coming down from Leeds," Mark Kass, founder of the new organisation, told insidethegames following the meeting on Sunday (June 8). 

"There was lots of enthusiasm and passion, with many ex-Games makers and old faces from the collecting community, as well as members of the public.

"There was a lot of pin trading but also stories and memory swapping, and that is what it is all about."

Kass claimed their aim is to bring collecting more into the "physical world" and to help the hobby develop in Britain. 

An event to launch the new National Olympic and Paralympic Pin Collectors Association of Great Britain was held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park ©Mark Kass

"To an extent London 2012 was a lost opportunity because nothing has really happened in terms of collecting ahead of Rio 2016, and it did not happen with Sochi 2014 until very late," Kass said.

"At the moment we are testing the market, and hearing opinions from members of the public as to what they want.

"After we have done that we will communicate with the British Olympic Association, as well as the Greater London Authority and the London Legacy Development Corporation.

"Collecting is a good way to build up an unusual Olympic legacy because, as well as getting people involved, you hear lots of quirky stories and memories."

The new club in Britain follows the inaugural General Assembly of the Association Internationale des Collectionneurs Olympiques (AICO) at the World Collectors Fair in Lausanne last month.

AICO has replaced the Federation Internationale de Philatalie Olympique (FIPO) as the leading international body for collecting and, although they will exist independently, a Memorandum of Understanding has already been signed with the International Olympic Committee.