101988 | SCOTLAND. Edinburgh Skating Club white metal Medal.

101988  |  SCOTLAND. Edinburgh Skating Club white metal Medal. Issued 1864-1901 for members of the club (44mm, 31.72 g, 12h). By Ingram for Lizars.

 

OCIOR EURO (swifter than the east wind, –adapted from Horace), seminude Hermes/Mercury gliding right, with wings on petasus and feet, holding caduceus and drapery billowing around and overhead; all within thin border of thistles / THEIR R. H. THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES PATRON AND PATRONESS, ЄδINBURGҺ / SKATING / CLUB in three lines within thistle wreath. Edge: Plain.

 

The Edinburgh Skating Club p. 134, 10 in The Book of the Old Edinburgh Club, vol. XXXIII. Mint State. Pewter-gray surfaces, with great mirrored brilliance in the fields and great relief; some scattered marks are observed in the fields.

 

Though the exact date is not known, the Edinburgh Skating Club appears to have been formed in the mid-18th century and, given that one in London was not founded until 1830, it could maintain the claim that it was the oldest such club on the British Isles and, quite likely, the world. For its motto, the club chose "ocior euro," or "swifter than the east wind," an adaptation from Horace. Medals such as these served as passes or indications of membership to the club and, as such, a sense of social status given that dues were involved. In addition to its dues, applicants, in order to become members, had to demonstrate their ability by leaping on skates over three hats and by executing a circle while skating on one foot. Though this medal is undated, its reference to the Prince and Princess of Wales as patrons gives a date range, as Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, had been patron until his untimely death in 1861. From shortly thereafter, the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII) and his wife Alexandra served in the role as patrons (they having married in 1863).

 

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