Dreigement aan het adres van de Republiek, wegens het onder water zetten van het land, rekenpenning geslagen ter ere van Claude La Peletier, van het derde provoostschap van de koophandel te Parijs 1673

Editor: Here we have an engraving on metal from 1673, entitled "Threat to the Republic for flooding the country, medal struck in honor of Claude La Peletier..." It's... intense. Very baroque, and you can practically feel the weight of the political climate etched into the metal. I wonder, what stories do you think this little coin whispers, what can you share with me? Curator: Ah, this little coin is a scream of history compressed into a tiny circle! Look closer – one side depicts the threat, a figure seemingly opening the floodgates upon a vulnerable, kneeling woman representing the Dutch Republic. The tension! It's pure Baroque drama, isn’t it? But flipping it over, you have a coat-of-arms, commemorating La Peletier's supposed cleverness. Editor: So, it’s propaganda, basically? Commemorating the... act of threatening? Curator: Well, "commemorating" is one word. Perhaps "boasting" is another! It's a piece of boastful political marketing, Dutch Golden Age style. And notice the detail, considering its size. It begs the question, what kind of audience did such pieces target? The political elite? Wealthy merchants? Did everyone just walk around jingling these pocket-sized proclamations? Editor: That is wild to think about! Like carrying around a tweet, but in metal! It really highlights the intensity of the time period. I never considered how much could be communicated, or mis-communicated through just an engraving. Curator: Exactly! It shrinks history down to pocket size! A little memento mori, perhaps, of political fragility, or perhaps, a badge of momentary victory. Who knew such a tiny object could shout so loudly?