Tweede gesticht van de kolonie Veenhuizen, huismunt geslagen op last van de Maatschappij van Weldadigheid ter waarde van dertig cent 1818 - 1859

Curator: Here we have a rather curious object: a house coin from the Veenhuizen colony, minted by the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid between 1818 and 1859. Editor: There’s a certain somber beauty to it, wouldn't you say? Like a relic carrying unspoken stories of its time. The worn metal hints at countless transactions, of survival measured in increments of 'thirty cents.' Curator: Exactly. It serves as an intimate link to the workings of the Veenhuizen colony, where the poor and orphaned were offered shelter and work. It reflects the specific economy created, a kind of closed loop where the residents' labor was both cause and effect of the community’s internal function. Editor: That texture, those visible tool marks from the engraving… feels like each line tells a tale of repetitive motion, almost echoing the colony's own cycle of regulated lives, doesn't it? Did everyone use this as money within the colony? Curator: Precisely, these tokens circumvented regular currency. This secured that residents were purchasing food and supplies specifically from the colony, sustaining a predictable economic and social system. Editor: There's a stark honesty in its materiality, really. No shimmering pretense here, just the barest of necessary form and a constant reminder of imposed limits and also survival by what some may describe as “good works." Curator: Absolutely. It is unidealized, made only to function as currency within the boundaries of a closed society. Editor: Knowing now the coin’s context enriches it in ways more precious materials never could. Thank you! Curator: It underscores how societal structures permeate into the tangible objects of daily lives and reminds us of the processes of control embedded in mundane objects like currency.