Saturday, February 21, 2015

Unexpected find.

I'm a casual Olympic pin collector; mainly sailing (summer games) and of course skating pins from the winter games.  I was idly trolling "flea-bay" about a week ago and spotted this unrelated pin:

The seller though that this was a pin issued to and worn by ice dance judges.  However I think a more likely explanation is that this pin was awarded to skaters after they passed the tests for the three preliminary dances (Dutch Waltz, Canasta Tango and Rhythm Blues).  Today I showed the pin to one of my coaches and although she has never seen one of these, she agrees with my guess.  I wonder how old the pin is?  I'm guessing perhaps it dates to the 1950s.  Can anyone reading this post add to the story?

The pin is extremely well made and features a stick pin and moveable lock rather than the "tie tack" stud and keeper common to more recent pins.  I attempted to read the maker's stamp on the back but my eyes aren't good enough.  I think part of the mark reads "New York".  I'll take it to work and look at the stamp with a tissue culture microscope in my lab.  After showing this to my other coach next Tuesday, I will add the pin to my pin board and not wear it until I pass those three dances.

4 comments:

  1. This is so cool! I love thinking of all the stories that could be associated with the pin and the person (people?) who wore it. What a great find!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I'd love to know the whole story: who wore it, where did (s)he skate, how far up the pattern dance ladder did this individual go, how old is the pin, etc. The first three I'll probably never know. I'm hoping someone reading my blog will be able to confirm the dates when USFSA issued these pins. Perhaps I'll contact the club and ask.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How cool!

    It's amazing how much we can find to buy and collect in figure skating--our collection is simply practice dresses. When we find one we love, especially for a deal, we snap it up--Ariana has enough to last her until she's ten by now... she's four. But then everything figure skating is so beautiful so how could anyone resist?

    xo Ariana & Ximena
    ArianaDuarte.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks and good luck with your skating! I will be following your blog journey with great interest. Glad to see that you've made it passed the "klingon" (as in clinging-on to the boards) stage! Hope you will be taking lessons as well as Ariana.

    ReplyDelete