1987 Skate Canada Pin: Limited Edition.

Last Updated on October 19, 2024 by Netropolitan Museum

Collectors resorted to making special trades in order to acquired the sold out event pin

According to a report in Skating magazine on the 1987 Skate Canada competition, held in Calgary, Canada, the pin issued to commemorate the event was produced in limited number and sold out before the event had concluded. That left collectors and others attending the event who had not yet gotten the coveted souvenir in a bit of a quandary. But collectors are both resourceful and tenacious, and according to the report, “… special trades were being made [to acquire the pin] before the week was out.” Those kinds of occurrences—a limited edition event pin or a special version available to only a few—made for exciting times for collectors, for in the mid- to late-1980s, collecting and trading figure skating pins was still a highly popular pastime at competitions.

Pin Gallery: 1987 Skate Canada

A shape from the past, a hexagon, was called upon for the 1987 Skate Canada pin. The same profile had been used for the pin made to commemorate the 1972 World Figure Skating Championships, also held in Calgary, so it was a bit of a tip of the (cowboy) hat to the 1972 event. With its six sides, the pin is also a snowflake shape, although that isn’t immediately apparent. When formed under normal atmospheric conditions, snowflakes are always six-sided.

The epoxy-covered pin is set onto a gold-color base metal. An off-white background highlights the familiar, dynamic Skate Canada logo that was introduced 14 years earlier at the very first Skate Canada event—also in Calgary. A bright red fills the stylized skater. To the left of the figure is the then-in-use logo of the Canadian Figure Skating Association (CFSA, or today also called Skate Canada), and tucked into the deep curve created by the arm and leg extended on the right is the event name in all-capital, gold letters: “Skate Canada.” Below that are the year and location, also in gold: “1987 Calgary.” A red border emphasizes the hexagonal shape but is perhaps a bit too thick, as it competes visually with the main elements.

True to the statement made in Skating magazine about the limited production, the 1987 Skate Canada pin is not often seen, particularly now, nearly 40 years after the event.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on April 30, 2022, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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