Kilt Pin Brag

**ehiker** · 22nd May 07, 02:05 PM

When my wife gave me the go-ahead to kilt up for our wedding, I spent quite a bit of time "compiling" my outfit.

My best man (fellow Xscot, mang1974) received a custom Rab Gordon sgian dubh for his best man's present - maybe I'll cover that in a different thread - and I got a matching one.

I spent four months scouring eBay (and the net in general), looking for a kilt pin. When I finally found it, I probably put a bid on it that was way too high, but I'd never seen anything like it before or since, so I didn't want it to get away.

The story behind the pin, as told by the previous owner when he shipped it from Australia, is that his mother received it as a gift in the 1980's from an elderly British expatriot who moved to Sydney in the 1950's, and the woman said she'd owned it for years at that point, even.

No idea what the date is on it, then, but it is 980 Sterling Silver, and it looked rather fab on the kilt, if I do say so myself.

**McMurdo** · 22nd May 07, 02:10 PM

That is a very nice kilt pin, your looking around certainly paid off.

**ccga3359** · 22nd May 07, 02:22 PM

I'm sure your bid was not way too high. You have a unique kilt pin that you will cherish. Congratulations.

**BEEDEE** · 22nd May 07, 03:12 PM

That is a most unusual and striking kilt pin. Thanks for sharing with us.

Brian

**Dirk Skene** · 22nd May 07, 05:17 PM

Very nice my friend. And congrats

**Belegnole** · 22nd May 07, 06:11 PM

Very nice pin. From the information you gave I would guess that the pin was made in Mexico between the 1930's and mid 1940. 980 is actually above what is considered Sterling. you might have seen 925 on a piece or two. That is the accepted hallmark for sterling. Sterling is 92.5% Silver, whereas you pin is 98% silver and Fine silver is 99.9% pure.Other than the 980 stamp you might find two or 3 more. They could lead you to more knowledge about the pin. Of course there is really no need for it as the pin is beautiful with out it....

**Oldhiker** · 22nd May 07, 08:11 PM

is that a Lamont ancient tartan behind the pin?

**Bob C** · 22nd May 07, 08:31 PM

Very nice pin. I don't blame you for bragging.

**ehiker** · 22nd May 07, 08:45 PM

It's actually an Ancient Campbell of Argyll, George.

I'm Irish on my mom's side with the Dean family name, and we're originally from County Galway. But if you've ever seen the Galway County tartan, you'd have to believe there were never any redheads from that part of Ireland! Those colors totally clash with red hair.

http://www.lindaclifford.com/IrishGalwaySA.html

(And to be honest with you, my mom's tried to get me to wear rust for most of my life - I really can't stand the color. I would have never lived it down if the kilt I wore at my own wedding was predominantly rust colored.)

I married a Campbell (on her mom's side). Her mom is into the family geneology bit and she'd traced their lineage back to the Campbells of Argyll, so I adopted their tartan.

I believe the Ancient Campbell of Argyll is NOT approved by the current head of the clan, but... I've never really been one to follow rules that well.

(On a side note... it's very interesting to go to tartan festivals and games and see the Campbells still get boo'd by the MacDonalds. And I thought my brother held grudges!)

The kilted man on the right is none other than mang1974. He's sporting the Montgomery Modern tartan, for anyone interested in the knowing.

This wedding was a bit of a recovery of a missed opportunity, as we wanted to wear kilts when I was the best man at HIS wedding a few years earlier, but we didn't think about it in time to get it organized. When my (then) fiance mentioned she'd always wanted to have a piper at her wedding, I said I'd love to have a piper as well, and would she mind terribly if I wore a kilt? She agreed, so my very first phone call was to my best man to ask him if he wanted to try for wearing kilts at a wedding again...

But I should probably cover the wedding in a different thread - don't want to hijack my own post!