1947 European Figure Skating Pin: Alpine Glory.

Last Updated on September 6, 2025 by Netropolitan Museum

A delicate design marking skating’s postwar return—and perhaps reflecting limited resources

The 1947 European Figure Skating Championships pin is a rare and elegant memento from the championships held in Davos, Switzerland, from January 31 to February 2, 1947. Issued to competitors and others associated with the event by the Internationaler Schlittschuhclub Davos,¹ the piece captures the alpine spirit of its host city with a design featuring the edelweiss, the iconic flower of Switzerland and Austria. Few European Championship pins have incorporated a floral motif, which makes this particular design a standout. The edelweiss would live on in Davos; read on for how the iconic flower was also used for future events’ pins staged in the resort city.

On a graceful chain, an old-style skate blade inscribed with “I.S.C. DAVOS” is suspended from the edelweiss blossom. Made of silver-colored metal, the pin is small and delicate, echoing the fragile beauty of the star-like flower it represents. The yellow florets at the center of the edelweiss are recreated with a pearlized decoration, lending the piece a soft luminosity.

Pin Gallery: 1947 European Figure Skating Championships

Because the pin is the club’s own issue, it doesn’t include the event name, year, and location markings usually seen on pins produced specifically for a championship. Because the 1947 European Championships were the first to be held after a seven-year hiatus due to World War II, it is likely that resource shortages influenced the decision to use the club pin rather than commission an event-specific design.

The 1947 Championships carries just a bit more history beyond the war years. Barbara Ann Scott of Canada captured the ladies’ title, with Gretchen Merrill of the United States taking silver, leaving the top European skater, Daphne Walker of Great Britain, with a bronze. This was during a time when non-European skaters were eligible to compete at the European Championships. Scott defended her European title in 1948, after which the event was restricted to ISU member European nations. Today, the Four Continents event is the equivalent of the European Championships for skaters from North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. When the Four Continents event was launched in 1999, there were no ISU member nations from South America, although that later changed when Brazil was admitted; however, the event has not been retitled even though five continents are sometimes represented.

For collectors, the 1947 European Figure Skating Championships pin represents more than just an attractive design. It embodies a turning point in skating history—the return of international competition to European ice after the devastation of war. Its edelweiss motif evokes the alpine setting of Davos and the resilience of the sport in an uncertain era.

The story of skating in Davos continues with the pins from the 1948 and 1953 World Figure Skating Championships, both also hosted in the Swiss mountain town. Each reflects its own moment in postwar skating history, from the early resumption of competition to the growing international prominence of the sport. Readers may also enjoy the post about the pins from the 1966 World Figure Skating Championships, likewise hosted in Davos.

¹Source: Quinn, Robert J. and Nancy D. Figure Skating Pins. Larchmont, N.Y. Quin-Tel Productions, Inc. 1987.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on January 16, 2021, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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