Strafgevangenis Ommerschans, huismunt geslagen op last van de Maatschappij van Weldadigheid ter waarde van 25 cent c. 1822 - 1830

Editor: We're looking at an object called "Strafgevangenis Ommerschans, huismunt geslagen op last van de Maatschappij van Weldadigheid ter waarde van 25 cent," a house coin from the Ommerschans prison, made around 1822-1830. It's currently at the Rijksmuseum. The material looks like metal, and you can clearly see the numbers '25', and 'C' – presumably for cents. It's a strangely moving piece, evoking the idea of confinement, but with a hint of human ingenuity, like graffiti scratched onto a wall. How would you interpret this work? Curator: Ah, yes. When I look at this coin, I think about how it compresses the grand economic schemes of the Dutch Society of Benevolence down to something incredibly intimate and local. This simple coin isn't just money; it represents control, survival, and the strange intersection of social reform and prison life. I’m interested in how the material and the imprecision convey not an inscription but the marks and indentations of those on the periphery; one can sense its purpose simply by beholding the visual, tangible reminder of daily, and local economics. How would you contrast it against currency minted elsewhere, outside the prison system? Editor: Well, officially minted coins project power and wealth and speak of national identity. This coin seems like the polar opposite—almost makeshift in its construction, carrying the story of the powerless, the marginalized, but still carrying value within that closed context. Curator: Exactly. It reminds me that the concept of money itself is just a collectively agreed-upon fiction and perhaps also calls attention to its own, internal collective, in ways that official state-sponsored currency cannot do. This coin invites us to contemplate money as both a tool for subjugation and perhaps also of some social equity. The prison's monetary system as a closed economic circle - imagine the stories this little coin could tell us! Editor: It certainly gives you a lot to think about; seeing such a common object completely transforms my perception of it. Curator: Indeed. Everyday things can become poignant messengers with compelling, powerful stories when recontextualized. I know that it certainly causes a lot of new connections to form for me!