Strafgevangenis Ommerschans, huismunt geslagen op last van de Maatschappij van Weldadigheid ter waarde van 50 cent 1818 - 1859

This coin, whose maker is currently unknown, was minted for use in the Ommerschans penal colony. It’s a copper token, stamped with the letters O.S. on one side, and the number 50 on the other, designating its value in cents. The making of money is normally the sole prerogative of the state. But here, we see a private organization issuing its own currency, a potent symbol of control. This was the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid – the Society of Benevolence. They ran Ommerschans as a kind of experimental work farm; inmates were put to labor, and this coin would have been their compensation. Think of the processes involved in this object: the mining of the copper, its refinement and alloying, the die-striking, and finally the distribution of the coins within the prison walls. All of these processes speak to the fraught relationship between labor, politics, and value. This object isn't just a coin; it's a symbol of a complex, and perhaps failed, social experiment. It challenges our understanding of the relationship between fine art and craft.