Tweede gesticht van de kolonie Veenhuizen, huismunt van veertig cent, geslagen op last van de Maatschappij van Weldadigheid ter waarde van 40 cent 1818 - 1859

This is a forty cent coin, or huismunt, made for the Veenhuizen colony by an anonymous artist. These coins offer a glimpse into a complex chapter of social reform. Veenhuizen was established by the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid, or Society of Benevolence, during a time when poverty was seen as a moral failing. The coins were used within the colony as a means to control and contain the labor and commerce of the inhabitants, who were often orphans, vagrants, or impoverished families. Consider the power dynamics embedded in this object: the Society, primarily composed of middle-class men, exerted authority over the lives of the working class by managing every facet of the colony. The coins served as a constant reminder of the inhabitants' dependence and their place within a rigid social hierarchy. They were paid with these coins for their work, which could then be used to purchase goods, within the colony. This coin embodies a story of control, reform, and the complex relationship between those who govern and those who are governed.