Zeeuwse duit, 1793 1793

Curator: Here we have a Zeeuwse duit, dated 1793, issued by the Province of Zeeland. These small copper coins circulated during a turbulent time. Editor: My first impression is the object’s texture. Despite its simple design, the surface seems deeply tactile. The raised lettering and border give it a kind of graphic elegance. Curator: Absolutely. Consider the context: The Dutch Republic was on the brink of revolution, mirroring the unrest in France. This little coin was part of a much larger drama. Issuing its own coinage was one way for Zeeland to exert its authority, its very identity, even as the old order crumbled. Editor: It’s striking how the arrangement of the letters—Z, L, D—forms a central block, flanked by those three somewhat ambiguous star shapes. The organization gives this tiny token such a remarkable visual weight. Curator: Indeed, currency always tells a story about who holds power, whose image is sanctioned for circulation. But the story here isn’t of grand portraits but of practical governance at a local level. The symbolism might seem sparse, yet that abbreviation “Zeelandia,” is very impactful, in affirming the province's agency through commerce. Editor: I see that dotted rim functioning like a frame—clearly separating the coin’s “inner world” from its surrounding environment. And the muted tones make it feel as if it’s a study in restraint and understated authority. Curator: Precisely. Even small, mundane objects like this help us reconstruct a world of political contention, where power was negotiated at every level of society, and yes, visually expressed through material. Editor: Looking closer at the material properties really does give one a palpable sense of the past. A coin is so easily passed between hands, between places… So to grasp this coin today is to hold a small material portal to the late eighteenth century. Curator: Exactly. Editor: Thank you.