Twee stuiver, noodmunt uit Deventer, geslagen tijdens het beleg Possibly 1578

This "Twee Stuiver," or two-penny piece, was struck in Deventer during a siege, with Balthasar Wijntgens as its master. The coin’s surface features an eagle, a symbol deeply interwoven with notions of imperial power and divine authority. Consider the eagle, this symbol has been used since the ancient world. Its image reappears in the Roman Empire and in Byzantium, and is reborn in the heraldry of the Holy Roman Empire. Note how the bird has been transformed and adapted to fit different cultural and political landscapes, each time accumulating new layers of meaning. Now, imagine those turbulent times of siege. This coin was likely born from a cauldron of desperation. It is a tangible manifestation of the collective will to survive. The symbol of the eagle—a beacon of hope and authority—must have provided psychological sustenance. By engaging with these symbols we confront the timeless dance between human survival and the images we project onto the world.