Sometimes, a coin is just a coin, something that you need to pay for things and to actually live. Sometimes, it can also be something that can make you think about other things, like how that item you’re holding can have an effect on things like society and maybe even the planet in general. Normally, coins and money are all about consumerism but it can also go beyond that. And also, it can look unique enough and pretty enough to warrant a conversation.
Designer: Bonka Circus
A communications agency in Belgium has helped local bank Vdk to create the world’s first three-sided coin that is not just heads and tail but also have another side to it. It’s not an actual coin but something that is more decorative and commemorative, although they did have the approval of the National Bank of Belgium and the European Central Bank. It has the one-euro design on one side of it but again, it doesn’t have any monetary value. But it does represent what the bank stands for which is to get Belgians thinking about choosing “for themselves, the region, and the planet”.
The result is pretty similar to an actual euro coin but with three sides to it, looking a bit similar to a ring although there’s no hole in which to wear it. The idea from the bank was to “triple your thinking” and this metaphor was translated into the coin. This was also a collaborative effort A 3D studio converted the design, milling experts made a mold, a gold and silversmith polished and gilded them in a gold bath then turned it into the three-sided creation we now see.
As part of vdk bank’s vision on sustainable and ethical banking, this coin will initially be given to bank employees. Supposedly, it will also be launched later this year in the French-speaking part of the country. It’s a pretty nice trinket to have and maybe also get people to start really thinking about how they do their banking and what effect it will have on the world around them.
