Tweede gesticht van de kolonie Veenhuizen, huismunt geslagen op last van de Maatschappij van Weldadigheid ter waarde van 1 cent 1818 - 1859

This is a one cent coin struck on the order of the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid for use in the Veenhuizen colony. The coin is anonymous, its plainness speaking to its utilitarian purpose. These colonies were set up in the Netherlands in the early 19th century as a means of addressing poverty. The Maatschappij van Weldadigheid, or Society of Benevolence, was a private organization that aimed to rehabilitate the poor through agricultural work and education. Veenhuizen was one of the largest of these colonies. This coin would have been used within the colony as a form of internal currency. In effect, it ensured the captive circulation of the colonist's labour. The coin is thus a potent symbol of social engineering, revealing the complex relationship between philanthropy, social control, and economic exploitation. To understand this history better, scholars turn to archival materials and institutional records to shed light on the power dynamics at play within such communities. We can begin to understand how such a coin could represent the history and meaning of social institutions.