Issued to commemorate the 2002 Dutch skating season, this medal daalder sits in a long tradition of Dutch silver skating premiums that stretch back to the nineteenth century, when speed skating clubs on the frozen polders began commissioning struck pieces as prizes and membership tokens. The Netherlands has historically dominated long-track speed skating at the international level, and such pieces occupied a serious place in club culture well before Olympic recognition of the sport.
The .800 fineness is consistent with Dutch commemorative silver of the postwar decades, a standard that persisted in medal and token production long after coinage moved away from it.
Issued to commemorate the 2002 Dutch skating season, this medal daalder sits in a long tradition of Dutch silver skating premiums that stretch back to the nineteenth century, when speed skating clubs on the frozen polders began commissioning struck pieces as prizes and membership tokens. The Netherlands has historically dominated long-track speed skating at the international level, and such pieces occupied a serious place in club culture well before Olympic recognition of the sport.
The .800 fineness is consistent with Dutch commemorative silver of the postwar decades, a standard that persisted in medal and token production long after coinage moved away from it.