Passement and Ribbon Weavers' Guild of Amsterdam, guild medal by Steven Rouson

Guilds were urban organisations of people in specific occupations. The guild represented the interests of the profession. Each member had a token as proof of membership. The person’s name was engraved on one side of the token, often together with the arms of the guild or of the city in which it was based. The other side carried a motif signifying the occupation represented by the guild.