Reaal van vieren, geslagen te Mexico, munt uit het wrak van de Oost-Indiëvaarder 't Vliegend Hart 1733

Curator: Let's spend a moment with this intriguing artifact, a 'Reaal van vieren' silver coin. It was minted in Mexico in 1733, a survivor from the wreck of the Dutch East India ship 't Vliegend Hart'. Editor: Right away, I'm struck by the irregularity of it—how the edges seem almost torn, organic. There’s a profound sense of history clinging to its form. It has that allure of something salvaged and old. Curator: Precisely! Notice how the crude baroque style lends a chaotic feel, in direct relation with its material and form: although one could assume there was at least some original "intention", those intentions were modified greatly over time. Also consider how the "wearing away" that naturally occurred through oxidization changes our reading. Editor: What grabs me is the raw immediacy—not some idealized king, but a weathered cross, rudimentary markings pressed into the metal, now smoothed by the ocean’s caress. Do you feel a sense of something deeply authentic, a kind of haptic record? Curator: Absolutely, in its wear, we read semiotic codes for commerce, piracy, trade routes... it encapsulates an era. The markings are vestiges of a system imposed and perhaps reinforced through conquest. Editor: The details hint at something broader. One thinks of lost cargo, broken dreams, entire societies linked through this one little piece of silver. This 'coin' evokes not simply a financial value, but human costs! Curator: That’s the fascinating tension isn’t it? That what we perceive as beautiful here has been forged out of deep complexity, not always morally or ethically laudable, by all accounts. A very charged artifact in truth! Editor: In the end, it’s a humble little thing, but so full of untold narratives! The value, the beauty comes not just from its making but from its history. It makes me feel both humbled and invigorated! Curator: Exactly, its humble appearance almost belies its immense historical presence. The silver may gleam softly now, but it reflects something of our humanity, or inhumanity, throughout all time!