Koninklijke beloningspenning voor het toedienen van de meeste kosteloze koepok-vaccinaties, op naam van C. Pastoor 1822 1822

This is a silver medal, made in 1822 by 's Rijks Munt, the Dutch national mint. As the inscription makes clear, it was awarded to C. Pastoor for administering the most free smallpox vaccinations. Medals like this are relatively straightforward in terms of material and making. A design is engraved in steel dies, and these are then used to strike the form in a precious metal. But the deeper story is in the social context. Smallpox was a devastating disease, and vaccination was a crucial public health measure. This medal recognizes the labor of someone who was on the front lines of this effort. The medal itself, of course, is a marker of social status. It distinguishes Pastoor as someone who went above and beyond, and uses the inherent value of the silver to signal the importance of public health. So while this may seem a simple object, it in fact reflects a complex intersection of labor, class, and care.