Pin trading, where supporters from all over the world trade pins in the name of friendship and as a memory of an event, is a hobby that has been linked with the Olympic World Games since 1912.
Pin traders from all around the world have gathered in the Olympic Village in the RDS during the 2003 World Games to continue this tradition and to try and get their hands on a specially designed "pin of the day".
There are seven specially designed pins, representing each day of the competition, which are being traded throughout Games, ending up all over the world.
The Japanese pin will be in high demand as the 2004 Winter Games will be held there.
The 1940 Japanese pin has been the most coveted to date. Its very exclusiveness makes this rarely found pin very special to collectors. The 1940 Winter and Summer Games in Japan were cancelled due to World War II and since then the pins have become the most valuable in the world.
The first pins of the 2003 Games were officially launched on June 4th with the Irish soccer squad at their training session in Monaghan.
The event marked the beginning of a tradition that some families have been involved in since the first Special Olympics World Games in 1968.
The tradition of pin swapping, however, began around 1912 during the Stockholm Games when pins were produced for sale to spectators.
In 1924, when an Olympic village appeared in Paris and for the first time, athletes, officials, families and friends could widely trade their pins in a tradition that has grown in popularity since then.
Rita Lawlor, board member of the 2003 Games and former Special Olympics athlete, says she enjoys collecting different pins.
"It's great fun," she enthuses. "I love getting all the different ones. It's exciting to swap them.
"I have a big piece of material where they're hanging on the door," she added.
In 1982, the first pin traders' club was formed and, by 1984, an estimated 17 million pins in nearly 1,300 designs had been traded worldwide.
The first corporate sponsor pin of the Olympic Games was produced by a Finnish margarine maker for the Helsinki Games. The one-inch pin is referred to as the Daisy Olympic Ring due to its unique size.
The first pin trading centre was sponsored by Budweiser but since then Coca-Cola has become the main sponsor of the event.
Steve Harrold, managing director, Coca-Cola Ireland, says: "We are very pleased to be associated with such a wonderful and worthwhile event. Collecting and trading Special Olympics pins has become an important social aspect of the Special Olympics."
The festival village in the RDS remains open today and tomorrow. It is open from 10.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Events in the arena include theatre, music, street performances, busking and storytelling. Admission is free.