ID-Coin

The ID-Coin is a currency developed by Ingrid Davids that functions simultaneously as sculptural object and conceptual instrument. The work examines how value is constructed — not as an intrinsic property, but as the outcome of agreement, trust, participation, and systems of exchange. In this sense, currency operates not only as a medium of economic transaction, but also as a carrier of information, symbolism, and collective belief.

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Referencing contemporary cryptocurrencies and speculative economies, The ID-Coin explores the extent to which value can be assigned, manufactured, and negotiated. Central to the work is the role of the market itself in determining worth. The edition consists of 100 coins, each offered for sale according to an incremental pricing structure: the first coin costs €1, the second €2, the third €3, and so forth. Value accumulation is thus embedded within the system of the work itself.

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The coins are produced by pressing a found swizzle stick, recovered from the shoreline, into clay discs that are subsequently fired and glazed. The found object functions as a repeatable imprint, linking chance, origin, seriality, and reproduction. The coins may also be used as an alternative form of payment towards other works produced within Davids’ practice, allowing the artwork to temporarily circulate as an active currency system.