Make Your Own Art Money
Create It. Authenticate It. Trade It.
What if your art could do more than hang on a wall?
What if it could help you acquire other artwork, goods, services, and experiences—while introducing new collectors to your work?
You don't have to wait for someone to buy your art. You can offer it in trade for something you want.
Minnaar Money — Art You Can Trade invites visual artists, photographers, musicians, and other creators to explore the possibilities of making their own art money.
Whether you create paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, musical recordings, or other original works, you can use your creations to acquire things you want.
Create your own art money. Establish your own values. Authenticate your works. Offer them for trade.
Create original artworks or limited editions. Establish your own values and exchange policies. Document your creations with digital Certificates of Authenticity. Then put them into circulation through the free Minnaar Trading Post.
You can even submit introductory works for consideration in the Minnaar Catalogue, where selected works receive permanent recognition and ongoing exchange privileges.
Your art. Your values. Your terms.
1. Create Your Own Art Money
Your art already has value. Why not explore what you can acquire with it?
Create original artworks or limited editions specifically intended to be collected, gifted, saved, and traded.
Your art money might take the form of:
- Original drawings, paintings, and miniature Artcards.
- Signed woodcuts, linocuts, etchings, and other limited-edition prints.
- Original photographs and signed photographic editions.
- Small sculptures, ceramics, and collectible objects.
- Signed musical recordings and Musical Artcards combining visual art with original music.
You decide what to create, how many to produce, and what value to assign.
A small print might be offered in trade for a restaurant meal. A painting might be exchanged for professional services, travel accommodations, or another artist's work.
There's no required size, denomination, or artistic medium.
Your creations don't have to resemble conventional currency. They simply have to be artworks that someone else would like to acquire.
Make art people want. Then trade it for something you want.
Photographers: Put Your Images Into Circulation
Your photographs can become more than prints to be purchased and displayed.
Create signed, limited-edition photographs in whatever sizes and quantities you choose. Assign your own values, document each print with a digital Certificate of Authenticity, and offer them for trade.
A small photographic print might be exchanged for a restaurant meal, while a larger signed photograph might help you acquire equipment, professional services, or other artworks.
You can also invite collectors to exchange previously acquired prints toward other available photographs in your collection.
Your photography. Your editions. Your exchange terms.
Musicians: Make Your Music Collectible and Exchangeable
Your music can also take physical forms that collectors can acquire, enjoy, and trade.
Create signed, limited-edition recordings on CD, vinyl, cassette, or other physical formats, or produce Musical Artcards—collectible miniature artworks that connect visual art with original music.
Collaborate with visual artists to create distinctive designs, or produce your own.
Offer your musical creations in exchange for artwork, recording services, instruments, equipment, advertising, or other things you want.
Document your collectible editions with digital Certificates of Authenticity, and consider allowing collectors to exchange previously acquired works toward new releases.
Your music. Your editions. Your exchange terms.
Musicians and performing artists can also offer performances, commissions, and creative services for trade through the free Minnaar Trading Post.
2. Authenticate Your Art
If you're going to create art intended to circulate among collectors, it helps to establish a reliable record of what you've created.
A digital Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can document the artwork's creator, title, medium, dimensions, edition number, and other identifying details.
It can also help future collectors distinguish authorized works from imitations and verify the source of the certificate.
I use IntelliMint to issue digital Certificates of Authenticity for Minnaar Money, and artists can use the same technology independently for their own creations.
Through COAmint.com, artists can establish their own verified issuer identity and create digital certificates for original artworks and limited editions.
Certificates can be independently checked at CertificateOfAuthenticity.com.
This allows you to develop your own documented collection under your own name, while retaining control of your artwork, editions, and exchange policies.
Create the art. Document its authenticity. Give collectors greater confidence in what they're acquiring.
A COA helps verify the issuer and its recorded claims. It does not independently prove the artwork is genuine or prevent copying. The artist remains responsible for accurate documentation and authentication.
3. Trade Your Art for What You Want
Now put your art into circulation.
MinnaarTradingPost.com is a free marketplace where anyone can offer art, goods, services, and experiences for trade.
List your artwork, describe what you're offering, and tell prospective trading partners what you're seeking in return.
You might trade your art for:
- Other original artworks and collectibles.
- Printing, framing, photography, or advertising services.
- Restaurant meals, travel, or accommodations.
- Equipment, materials, and professional services.
- Silver, Minnaar Money, or other items of interest.
You aren't limited to trading with other artists. Any person or business interested in your work may become a potential trading partner.
You establish your own values and decide which offers to accept.
There are no membership fees or listing charges for participating in Minnaar Trading Post.
4. Make Your Art Exchangeable
Want to give collectors another reason to acquire your art?
Consider offering ongoing exchange opportunities within your own collection.
For example, you might allow collectors to propose exchanging one of your previously issued prints toward another available work, or combining several smaller works toward a larger piece.
You decide which artworks qualify, how exchanges are valued, and which terms you're willing to offer.
You can begin simply by inviting collectors to contact you with exchange proposals, without making an open-ended commitment to accept every work.
Exchangeability offers an intriguing alternative to conventional art ownership.
A collector can enjoy an artwork today while knowing there may be opportunities to trade it for something different in the future.
Keep your favorites. Exchange the others. Discover something new.
5. Have Your Art Selected for Minnaar Money
You can also introduce your art to collectors through Minnaar Money — Art You Can Trade.
Artist and curator Steven Minnaar invites fellow creators to submit original works and limited editions for consideration in the Minnaar Catalogue.
Think of these as introductory artworks—smaller creations that can introduce collectors to you and your larger body of work.
Works selected for Guest Artist Selections receive:
- Permanent Catalogue Recognition: A permanent listing identifying you as the creator, with a link to your website.
- Digital Certificate of Authenticity: Documentation of the selected work and its Catalogue registration.
- Sovereign Value (1 SV): An assigned exchange value within Minnaar Money.
- Lasting Exchange Privileges: The registered work remains eligible for exchange within the Minnaar Catalogue as it passes from collector to collector.
How Selection Works
Artists may submit up to three works at a time, as often as they wish.
Submissions are free.
Steven may select one, several, or none of the submitted works according to his artistic standards.
For each selected work you agree to contribute, you tender the physical artwork and one troy ounce of .999 fine silver to the Minnaar Treasury.
There is no limit to the number of your works that may be accepted.
Each accepted work becomes part of a permanent Catalogue where collectors can discover your art and follow the link to your website to explore what else you create.
Your other artworks remain entirely independent, available for sale or trade on whatever terms you choose.
Your selected Minnaars can introduce collectors to your art. Your own website and Trading Post listings can show them what else you have to offer.
Submit Your Art for Consideration →
6. Meet Artists. Meet Collectors. Make Trades.
Art and trade are often more enjoyable when people meet in person.
You're invited to our weekly Minnaar Money Meetups, bringing together artists, photographers, musicians, collectors, and traders.
Discover artworks, discuss ideas, propose exchanges, and meet potential creative collaborators.
Every Saturday, 10 AM–Noon
Minnaar Studio
24701 La Plaza, Suite 102
Dana Point, CA 92629
Explore Minnaar Money Meetups →
Everyone is welcome, whether or not their artwork has been selected for the Minnaar Catalogue.
Your Art Can Open Doors
You don't need a gallery, an art dealer, or anyone's permission to begin offering your own art in trade.
You can start with a single drawing, print, photograph, or recording.
Create a series. Authenticate your works. Offer them for trade. Invite collectors to discover more of what you do.
And if your artwork is selected for Minnaar Money, it can become part of a permanent collection where it continues to circulate under your name.
I created Minnaar Money because I believe art can have a life beyond simply being purchased and placed in a collection.
I invite fellow artists to explore that possibility with me.
Steven Minnaar
Artist & Curator — Minnaar Money
Get Started
Create It. Authenticate It. Trade It.
CREATE DIGITAL CERTIFICATES OF AUTHENTICITY →
LIST YOUR ART FOR TRADE — FREE →
SUBMIT YOUR ART TO MINNAAR MONEY →
Artists independently determine the values, terms, and availability of their own artworks. Independent artworks and their certificates do not automatically become Minnaar Money or receive Minnaar Catalogue exchange privileges. These privileges apply only to works personally selected and registered by Steven Minnaar. Art money is collectible art offered in voluntary exchange, not legal tender or a guarantee of monetary redemption.