5 euro – The Rietveld Five Euro

Second issue in the ‘Dutch Heritage’ series. The ‘Rietveld Five Euro’ is the second issue in a new series of nine commemorative coins on the topic of Dutch Heritage (2012-2020). The first three themes are the Amsterdam Ring of Canals, Rietveld Schroderhuis and the Kinderdijkse Mills. The first three coins in this series have all been designed by Tine Melzer.

This commemorative coin is particularly special because it is the first regular 5 euro commemorative coin bearing the portrait of King Willem-Alexander.

The theme

Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) designed the Rietveld Schröderhuis on behalf of Truus Schröder-Schräder. Not only was it his first residence, it was also an exuberant experiment in form. As inspiration, Rietveld used his own furniture designs and the ideas of De Stijl, a Dutch art movement named after the journal set up in Leiden in 1917 with the same name. The result is a three-dimensional, asymmetric composition which encompasses flowing passageways between outdoors and indoors and the use of primary colours alongside black, white and grey. The design is also characterised by a light-hearted, well thought through division of space. Both inside and out, everything bears the same, celebrated Rietveld signature.

The theme of the coin falls within the annual theme of ‘European writers’ from the Europe-star programme and the coin therefore bears the European star.