22 June 2011: a building’s centenary
On 22 June 2011, Queen Beatrix made the first strike of the “100 jaar Muntgebouw” commemorative coin in Utrecht. The Koninklijk Huis annual report confirms the event. The advance announcement credits the design to Juan José Sánchez Castaño, a modeller at the Royal Dutch Mint.
The celebration marks one hundred years of the building occupied since 1911, rather than the institution’s founding. The QR code invites people to discover that place and the object commemorating it.
The QR code adds background to the design
According to the official report, scanning leads to a website with information about the coin, the Muntgebouw and its designer, including an interview. The small pattern therefore gives access to more background than the object itself can carry.
This is an information function: opening a page does not establish a coin’s authenticity and is not a payment. The link QR code and the website have different roles, as explained in the guide to how a QR code works.
A fictional collection prepares a separate label
Imagine an association presenting the entirely fictional “Collection des Trois Ateliers”. It wants to explain a medal without altering the object. It prepares a public page, then a label placed alongside it:
- On the label: the object’s name, known date and identifier “Workshop A”.
- Beside the QR code: “Discover how this medal was made”, with a readable address.
- On the page: an enlarged view, documented provenance, an explanation of the design and image credits.
The association checks that the label identifier, QR file and page refer to the same object. The names and collection in this example are fictional. The guide to QR captions helps phrase the action offered.
Creating the link, then checking the label
The Qurl generator can encode the address of the page already hosted. The QR code goes on the label; Qurl creates neither the information page nor a certificate of authenticity. A file prepared for printing does not guarantee that an engraving on metal will be readable.
For a series of labels, retain the match between object, destination and file. The guide to checking a series of QR codes explains this verification. On a display case, also examine reflections and the reading angle; the guide to undetected QR codes helps isolate a camera capture problem.
A lasting object deserves a maintained address
The object may remain on display while its website changes team or host. Choose an address the association can retain and record who maintains it. The guide to retaining access to QR codes helps organise continuity.
Keep the essential information on the label and provide a sheet that can be consulted without scanning, using the guide to accessible alternatives. For another heritage use from the same period, the retrospective on QRpedia in Derby in 2011 shows how the visitor’s language can determine the page opened.