Derde gesticht van de kolonie Veenhuizen, huismunt geslagen op last van de Maatschappij van Weldadigheid ter waarde van tien cent 1818 - 1859

Curator: Look at this fascinating piece. What you're seeing here is actually a house coin, minted between 1818 and 1859, at the Veenhuizen colony. Editor: It looks… rough. Forged, almost? There's something almost deliberately crude about it, despite the official-looking stamps. Makes you wonder about the conditions of minting and distribution, I suppose? Curator: Exactly! It was commissioned by the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid – the Society of Benevolence. Veenhuizen itself was the third colony they established as part of a larger social experiment. These coins, struck in relief, represent an intriguing aspect of how the institution operated, almost a closed circuit of social service and labor. Editor: Benevolence, huh? There’s a grim irony in a portrait-style object linked to 'benevolence' appearing almost... utilitarian. Is it an admission of failed charity masked by some practical means to push productivity or exercise authority? It has echoes of medieval power dynamics. Curator: You’re tapping into something key. Consider the use of such a specific token within a contained community; how easily it could become a symbol of both order and oppression depending on one's perspective. Currency as control, currency as limited possibility. Editor: It’s hauntingly poetic, if you think about it. This little coin—it speaks volumes about a bygone era’s conflicted idealism. Metal like memory… It is amazing to hold something of that power within such a seemingly modest scale. Curator: Agreed. Seeing how the coin carries echoes of past societal concerns reflected through today’s lens highlights the rich complexities inherent within these everyday objects. It holds a certain emotional and historical resonance. Editor: Absolutely, it transforms assumptions – like a magic charm for seeing a familiar problem from another view. It invites you into the maze of the artist's view... very strange.