The Canada Cup of Curling has brought many individuals to Moose Jaw — curlers and their fans, media, and apparently, pin enthusiasts.
“We’ve been going to the Scotties, Briers and all of these events since 1984,” said Dave Phillips, a curling pin collector from Red Deer, Alberta.
“We started collecting these pins when we were stationed over in Germany... it’s educational for us, because you can go out and get a pin from somewhere and look it up for where it’s found... it’s been great.”
Phillips and his wife, Halga, are in Moose Jaw this weekend to take in the Canada Cup action and collect the event’s special pins.
“This event only has sponsor’s pins,” said Halga.
“The people here haven’t brought their own, personal pins. So I’ve been bugging all of the different sponsors.”
Phillips said he owns a collection of more than 9,000 curling pins. He has never sold a pin, and the most expensive one he has bought cost him $500. He said he needed it to fill a hole in his world curling championship Scotch Cup frame.
“That would be the only reason I’d spend that much, to fill a hole and complete my set,” he said.
But, said Phillips, his collection is small compared to some.
“A friend of mine in London, Ontario is up over 17,000 (pins). And a good friend of mine in Calgary has just over 25,000,” he said.
Among the pins he owns, Phillips said he particularly enjoys a “very lovely designed and well-made” Quebec International Bonspiel pin that is “just like a piece of jewellery.”
But, he said, “there’s not really a favourite (in my collection). We just like to collect them and mount them all in frames by province and by championship event, and they’re great to look at.”
