Euro '96 Badges - Update - December 1998

Well it is now over 2 years since the European Championships were held in England, and I am still adding to my collection of badges which now totals over 100. Some of them are excellent quality and design, others leave a lot to be desired. I thought readers may be interested in my Euro '96 badge news for 1998.

Badges obtained over the year included the fine set of 16 Goaliath the Lion badges [1 & 2] with trailing flag and country name underneath. These I think were issued in Germany.

From a Bulgarian contact I obtained a special Bulgarian F.A. badge featuring the flag of St. George and the text "Euro 96 England" [3]. Also from the Bulgarian source I obtained a small badge featuring a rather badly drawn Goaliath with foot on ball and Bulgarian flag [4].

I acquired a boxed set of five glass fronted Coca-Cola badges featuring Goaliath in some of his standard poses, 4 of the badges are the same size [5], but the 5th one is a large version of one of the other 4 , Goliath in his ball under arm pose [6]. All 5 badges have the text "Enjoy Coca-Cola" at the bottom.

1	2	3	4	5	6

At the AFBC AGM I finally got hold of the BBC/ITV issued Forto badge [7].

A recent weekend in Paris provided rich pickings for my collection. On a stall at a collectors' market I obtained some badges I already knew about, and some I had never seen before. I bought the badge featuring Wembley stadium [8], with what looks like the initials ASF and SAV above, this I believe was issued by the Swiss F.A.

I also purchased a very large Coca-Cola enamel badge which featured the "UEFA Euro 96 England" emblem and also the "Always Coca Cola" emblem [9]. I do not recall having seen this badge before. There was also at least two other Coca-Cola Euro '96 badges I had never seen before, unfortunately I had to let them go because the prices required were very high, and a weekend in Paris is an expensive business anyway! I assume the high prices reflect the collectability of Coca-Cola memorabilia.

Also on the same stall in Paris I obtained the two most striking Euro '96 badges in my collection. Both are in actual fact the same design just with different colour variations. The main feature of the badge is a Coca-Cola vending machine, which has the words "UEFA Euro 96 England Coca-Cola refreshing the fans of Euro '96". On the left leaning against the machine is the Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse, and on the other side a much taller Goofy. There is presumably some sort of Euro Disney connection with the badges. One colour variation shows a red vending machine, with the Disney characters dressed in blue and green [10]. The other variation has a white vending machine, with the characters dressed in black [11]. However both badges contain a host of other colours in the detailed illustration. The badges are so large they actually have two clips on the back rather than one.

7	8	9	10	11

Finally I need to mention another badge featured in an auction that I unsuccessfully bidded for. It was advertised as featuring the Dutch F.A. mascot with a Coca-Cola bottle in hand. However I think it was that Goaliath again. The seller was based in Holland.

	Go to home page.
	Contact Colin.
	Football index page, which contains links to some of my other football badge pages.