Middenbeemster, 24 June 2019 - The ceremonial First Strike for the Beemster commemorative coin took place today. This official Dutch commemorative coin honours Droogmakerij de Beemster and is the eight issue in the ‘Dutch World Heritage’ series. The First Strike of the gold Beemster 10 Euro coin, was done by hand with a hammer by State Secretary of Finance, mr. Menno Snel, in the Keyserchurch in Middenbeemster.
This coin tells the story of the historical polder in the North Holland province, where the Dutch drained lands and converted it to fertile agricultural land. This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Beemster as world heritage!
The design
The German artist Katrin Korfmann, who lives in Amsterdam, is the designer of the Beemster 5 euro coin. She also signed for the Schokland 5 euro coin, published in 2018. In the designs of both coins, she emphasizes the contrast between the free, organic form of the natural landscape and the sleek, constructed grid of the polder landscape. The obverse of the coin shows the profile of the King, looking to the right: abstract but recognizable. Portrait, landscape, icons and letters are deeper in relation to the landscape, just like the former Beemsterlake was in relation to the surrounding old country. On the Schokland 5 euro coin this was exactly the other way around as a reference to the former island, which stood out above the Zuiderzee. Korfmann worked with Céline Hurka for typography.
Availability and mintage
The Beemster 5 Euro coin can be ordered through here and will have a maximum of 50.000 pieces. The commemorative coin is legal tender in The Netherlands with a nominal value of 5 euro’s.
Extra special is that with every Beemster order, we’re giving away a free sea level map of the Netherlands, so you can see for yourself how far under sea level you’re living and working.