Olympic Commemorative Pin: Vuchko/Wolf (Mascot) Sarajevo 1984

Vucko was the loveable wolf mascot of the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games. He was created by Jose Trobec after he entered a national contest to create the mascot. Vucko’s depiction as a wolf was due to the Eurasian Wolf’s presence in the Dinaric Alps of Bosnia. 40 years after the games ended, he is still a beloved symbol in the former Yugoslavia. Vucko is wearing an orange scarf holding red skis.

The collecting and sharing of Olympic Pins have been a staple of the modern games since their inception in 1896. The souvenirs are highly sought after by both athletes, who collect and trade inside the village, and spectators who buy pins from official and fan run stores. Sponsors of the games often mass produce pins for anyone to collect as memories of the games. Coca-Cola, for example, produced multiple full pin sets for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Some of the unofficial mascots were also creations of companies, such as the 1972 Sapporo games and their mascot, Takuchan, created by the Seiko watch company as a bear on skis wearing a wristwatch. Pins are a small part of the overall marketing for the modern games, which now encapsulates a large merchandising operation involving overseas mass production of Olympic memorabilia.

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