Nursing Pins

Nursing Pins

I have been a compulsive collector most of my life so when I was in the hospital 20 years ago my bored mind noticed the variety of pins being worn by the nurses. Naturally I started collecting them. The older pins are mostly of gold and command respectable prices but with today’s high gold prices it is not hard to see that gold value is now the determining price factor. Since I only collect Wisconsin I thought I would share these here before I trade them off. Starting at the left is a Chicago Public Schools pin for a graduate with a Practical Nursing degree. This 10 k gold pin would date from the early 1900’s. Next is a Grant Hospital, Chicago 15 years service pin also in 10 k gold engraved on the back indicating that this pin was issued to some one with the initials G.R. in 1947. The basic design is common to many hospitals with legend changes as needed. The third pin is for a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. This 14 k gold pin is not engraved so we have no idea as to when it was issued but it looks like a WWII era pin. The field of nursing pins is vast and offers collectors a life time of interesting fun.