1912 and 1924 World Figure Skating Pin and Medal: Manchester On Ice.

Manchester’s mark on skating: A medal, a pin, a legacy

When it comes to figure skating history, Manchester, England, may not be the first city that comes to mind—but in both 1912 and 1924, it played host to the sport’s penultimate event, the World Figure Skating Championships, leaving behind not just memories but remarkable artifacts. The 1912 and 1924 World Figure Skating Championships pin and medal shown in today’s blog serve as tangible links to a bygone era of the sport, each with its own story to tell.

Fancy Skating: 1912 World Figure Skating Medal

The year 1912 is most famously marked by the sinking of the British passenger liner RMS Titanic, but just weeks before that maritime tragedy, Manchester welcomed the world’s best male and pairs skaters to compete for the prestigious World Figure Skating Championship titles. Among the competitors were Ludowika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson, who, representing Finland, claimed the silver medal in pairs. A commemorative medal awarded to the Jakobssons is now part of The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins collection and is a striking piece of history. See it in the gallery below.

The medal showcases a beautifully detailed outdoor skating scene. A male skater, dressed in the elegant attire of the era, appears poised to execute a series of intricate “fancy skating” moves. A gnarled tree and brushy landscape frame the skater, adding depth to the design, while a cool patina highlights the delicate details of the silver-colored medal.

On the reverse, the medal is inscribed with “National Skating Association of Great Britain” along the top and “Manchester Skating Club” along the bottom. At its center, the engraving commemorates the Jakobssons’ achievement: “Pairs Championship 1912 2nd.” A maker’s mark and hallmarks can be seen near the bottom of the medal. More than a century old now, this medal is a testament to a time when figure skating was still evolving into the sport we recognize today.

A Collector’s Mystery: 1924 World Figure Skating Pin

Twelve years later, Manchester once again welcomed the world’s top skaters for the 1924 World Figure Skating Championships. This time, the event took place at the Manchester Ice Palace in late February, with skaters like Gillis Grafström and Willy Böckl taking center stage—just weeks after their identical placements at the inaugural Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France.

Although a wide range of historical reports and records are available today that document competition results and happenings, far less is known about an event’s commemorative items. However, The Netropolitan Museum has uncovered two variations of the 1924 World Figure Skating Championships pin. One version, an all-metal piece with a bronze-like finish (shown in the gallery above), gleams with depth and texture, exuding the grandeur of the era. The shield-shaped design is adorned with scrollwork, evoking a sense of heraldry that aligns perfectly with the United Kingdom’s traditions.

At the top of the pin, a globe symbolizes the international nature of the event. Below, banners proudly display the event’s name: “World’s Championship Meet 1924,” a nod to the era’s informal use of “Worlds” in place of the competition’s official title. Centered within the shield’s distinctive “V” shape is a vintage skate blade, complete with a high, curled toe, alongside the host club’s name, “Manchester Skating Club.” This pin is a striking representation of a historic moment in figure skating.

A second version of the pin, documented in the 1987 book Figure Skating Pins, features an identical design but is filled with rich blue and white enamel. White fills the shield’s center, emphasizing the skate blade and club name, while blue enhances the event banners. Was the all-metal version a prototype? An unfinished stock piece? The mystery remains, but for collectors, that intrigue only adds to the appeal.

A Legacy Preserved

From the 1912 World Figure Skating Championships medal to the enigmatic 1924 pin, these pieces are more than just memorabilia—they are physical connections to an era when figure skating was still defining itself. Today, these artifacts stand as reminders of the athletes who carved their names into the sport’s early history.

The information in this blog was published on two other occasions—1912 World Championships on December 5, 2020, and 1924 World Championships on December 12, 2020—and has been updated with new and expanded information for this dual blog.

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Figure Skating Flashback: 1912 and 1924

• Norway’s Sonja Henie, born in 1912, would go on to redefine the sport of figure skating. A fierce competitor with a unique blend of skill and showmanship, she became the most decorated ladies’ singles skater in history. Her résumé boasts three Olympic gold medals, ten World Championships, and six European titles—a record that still stands in ladies’ figure skating. But Henie’s ambition extended beyond competition. She became a Hollywood sensation, starring in a string of skating-themed films in the 1930s and 1940s, and later headlining the popular “Hollywood Ice Revue” and “Sonja Henie Ice Revue,” thrilling audiences throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s. More than 110 years after her birth, her name remains legendary in the sport.
• Another notable figure, Arthur Vaughn, Jr., was born in February 1924 and would later claim the 1943 U.S. men’s championship. Representing the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society, he trained under the renowned Gustave Lussi, a coach who shaped some of the sport’s greatest champions. Arthur wasn’t the only skating star in his family—his sister, Jane Vaughn (later Vaughn-Sullivan), won back-to-back U.S. ladies’ titles in 1941 and 1942, proving that talent ran deep in the Vaughn family.
• The 1924 Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France, saw Austrian dominance in ladies’ and pairs skating, while Sweden’s Gillis Grafström captured his second Olympic gold medal in men’s singles, continuing his reign as one of the sport’s early icons. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Teresa Weld (later Weld-Blanchard) won her sixth and final U.S. ladies’ title in 1924. A true pioneer, Blanchard remains the most decorated U.S. pairs skater in history, with nine national titles—another record that still stands today.
• Both 1912 and 1924 share a unique distinction in figure skating history: they mark the only two times the World Championships have been held in Manchester, England. Although London and Birmingham have also been host cities, with London hosting numerous times, Manchester remains a part of the sport’s rich history.

From record-breaking champions to milestone events, 1912 and 1924 were pivotal years in figure skating’s evolution, shaping the sport’s future in ways still felt today.

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