Penning op het beleg van Amsterdam door Willem II, 1650 1724 - 1726

This medal, commemorating the siege of Amsterdam in 1650, was created by an anonymous artist. The making process of striking a medal like this one involved several skilled specialists. First, a die would have been engraved, in reverse, with the design you see here – a detailed image of the siege on one side, and a mounted knight on the other. The material of the medal, likely silver, would have been carefully selected for its malleability and ability to capture fine details. The medal maker would have placed a blank disc of silver between the two dies, and then struck them together with a hammer or screw press, transferring the design onto the metal. This process required precision and control. The medal can be understood as an artifact of political struggle and the skilled labor that underpinned it. It reminds us that even seemingly simple objects can be rich with social and historical meaning.