Balthasar Bekker, predikant te Amsterdam, door de synode te Alkmaar afgezet 1698

This medal representing Balthasar Bekker, the Amsterdam clergyman, was likely made in the Netherlands. The inscription indicates the synod of Alkmaar removed him from his post. It’s made from cast gold, a precious material for a serious subject. Consider the labor needed to create this medal. First, there was the design, then the modeling of a master from which molds could be taken. The casting process itself would demand high skill. A goldsmith would melt the metal at high temperature, then pour it carefully into the mold. After cooling, the medal would be chased to sharpen the details. The quality of this work speaks to the value placed on the subject, but also the political stakes. Small portable objects like this were key to the spread of ideas, working much like printed pamphlets. They remind us that even today, the flow of information is always tied to material culture.