Opening van het Kanaal van Terneuzen naar Gent 1827

This commemorative coin was made to celebrate the opening of the Canal from Terneuzen to Ghent, probably sometime in the first half of the 19th century. This coin, made by Joseph-Pierre Braemt, is of course a product of industrialization. Minted in silver, it’s not just a marker of economic exchange, but a symbol of the infrastructures that enabled that exchange in the first place. The very fact of its sharp, clear imagery – the stalks of wheat on one side, the inscription on the other – speaks to the mechanization of production at the time. Consider, too, the way this small object condenses various forms of labor. Not only the work of the canal builders themselves, but also of the agricultural workers symbolized by the wheat, and of course the factory workers who would have been involved in the coining process. All are brought together in this tiny, weighty token. So, next time you see a coin, remember that it is more than just money. It's a record of our aspirations and a tribute to the labor that makes them possible.