Overgave van Oostende, rekenpenning van de rekenkamer van Brabant 1605

This is a silver accounting token, made anonymously by striking in the early 17th century. These objects, common in the Netherlands and wider Europe, were functional tools for calculating sums and recording them, particularly in the world of commerce. Think about the skill that went into making this small object. First, the die had to be engraved with the imagery and text you see here: on one side, the arms of Brabant, a region now divided between the Netherlands and Belgium; on the other, the siege of Ostend during the Eighty Years’ War. Then, the silver had to be carefully weighed, heated, and struck between the dies to create the final form. Of course, the value of this token was not just in the silver. It derived from the labor that went into its making, and its utility as an instrument of accounting. That is a reminder that even seemingly simple objects can embody complex social and economic relations.