Make Your Own Art Money
Create It. Authenticate It. Trade It.
What if your creative work could do more than simply be sold?
What if it could help you acquire other artwork, goods, services, and experiences—while introducing new collectors to your creations?
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, writers, poets, and other creators to explore the possibilities of making their own art money.
Create original works 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 also submit eligible works for consideration through Guest Artist Selections, where artwork personally selected by Steven Minnaar receives permanent recognition in the Minnaar Catalogue and the established exchange privileges of Minnaar Money.
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 works 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.
- Original manuscripts, signed books, poetry broadsides, and literary Artcards.
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 works 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 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 connecting 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.
Musicians and performing artists can also offer performances, commissions, and creative services for trade through the free Minnaar Trading Post.
Your music. Your editions. Your exchange terms.
Writers & Poets: Turn Your Words Into Collectible Art
Your words can become more than something people read. They can become original artworks to be collected, gifted, saved, and traded.
Poets, novelists, and other writers are invited to explore the possibilities of creating their own literary art money through original manuscripts, signed editions, and imaginative collaborations with visual artists.
Here are five ways to begin.
Poetry Artcards
Create collectible 2.5 × 3.5-inch Artcards featuring original poetry, short verses, or haiku, with or without accompanying illustrations or photographs.
Cards may be unique handwritten originals or signed, limited editions.
Poetry Broadsides
Present an original poem as a beautiful print on fine paper, using expressive typography, illustrations, or traditional letterpress printing.
Create signed and numbered editions that collectors can display, frame, and exchange.
Original Manuscripts
Turn handwritten poems, short stories, literary passages, or other original writings into one-of-one collectible works.
An original manuscript offers collectors a direct connection to the writer's creative process.
Signed Chapbooks & Artist Books
Create small, carefully produced books of poetry, short fiction, or experimental writing.
Signed and limited-edition chapbooks can become collectible literary works in their own right.
Spoken-Word Artcards
Combine poetry with recorded performance.
Create a physical Artcard featuring an original poem, illustration, or photograph, with a QR code connecting the collector to a recording of the writer reading the work.
These may be one-of-one originals or signed, limited editions.
Your words. Your editions. Your exchange terms.
Collaborate With Other Artists
Creative collaborations can open new possibilities for everyone involved.
A poet might work with a printmaker to create illustrated broadsides. A musician might commission an artist to design Musical Artcards. A photographer might collaborate with a writer on a collectible illustrated story.
Artists can arrange commissions or propose exchanges of artwork, recordings, writing, photography, goods, or services.
Find potential collaborators through the free Minnaar Trading Post or our weekly Minnaar Money Meetups.
Create together. Collect together. Trade together.
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 a verified issuer identity associated with their own website domain and issue digital certificates for original works 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 its issuer and recorded claims. It does not independently prove that an artwork is genuine or prevent copying. The issuing 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 creations, 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 creations 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 exchange one of your previously issued prints toward another available work, or combine several smaller works toward a larger piece.
Photographers might offer exchanges between editions. Musicians might accept earlier collectible recordings toward new releases. Writers might offer exchanges among their signed literary editions.
You decide which works 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 a work 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 collector Steven Minnaar invites fellow artists to submit original works and signed limited editions for consideration in the Minnaar Catalogue.
Through Guest Artist Selections, Steven personally selects works according to his artistic standards, choosing only those he would be proud to have created himself.
Each accepted work is designated and registered as Minnaar Money while retaining its original identity and authorship.
Think of these as introductory artworks—creations that can introduce collectors to you and your larger body of work.
Artwork Requirements
Submissions are limited to original works and signed limited editions on paper or canvas panel, measuring no more than 11 × 14 inches.
Stretched canvases are not accepted.
Eligible works may include:
- Original drawings and paintings.
- Linocuts, woodcuts, etchings, and other original prints.
- Original photographic prints and signed limited photographic editions.
- Mixed-media works on paper or canvas panel.
- Original or signed limited-edition Artcards.
- Musical Artcards combining original visual art with access to original music.
Musical Artcards must measure exactly 2.5 × 3.5 inches to qualify for inclusion in the Minnaar Catalogue as Musical Artcards.
All accepted works must be delivered in clear protective sleeves suitable for their dimensions.
These requirements apply specifically to Guest Artist Selections. Artists remain free to create and trade their other works independently in any medium, size, or format they choose.
How Selection Works
1. Submit Your Artwork
Artists may submit photographs or previews of up to three works at a time, as often as they wish.
Submission is free.
2. Artistic Selection
Steven may select one, several, or none of the submitted works according to his artistic standards.
There is no limit to the number of works by an individual artist that may ultimately be accepted.
3. Contribute Your Accepted Work
For each selected work you choose to contribute, you provide:
- The physical artwork in a clear protective sleeve.
- One troy ounce of .999 fine silver.
The artwork and silver are required only after selection, if you decide to proceed.
Please do not ship artwork or silver until acceptance has been confirmed and delivery arrangements have been made.
4. Catalogue Registration
Each accepted and registered work receives:
- Permanent Catalogue Recognition: A lasting record identifying the artwork and its original creator, including a link to the artist's website.
- Digital Certificate of Authenticity: Documentation identifying the physical artwork, its authorship, and its Minnaar Money registration.
- Sovereign Value of 1 SV: An assigned exchange value within the Minnaar Money system.
- Lasting Exchange Privileges: Eligibility for exchange with other registered Minnaars, subject to the established Catalogue rules.
For limited editions, each accepted physical impression or copy is individually registered. Other copies of the same edition do not automatically become Minnaar Money.
Introduce Collectors to Your Art
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 works remain 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.
Create art. Share art. Trade art.
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 visual artists, photographers, musicians, writers, poets, collectors, and traders.
Discover creative works, discuss ideas, propose exchanges, and meet potential 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 work 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, recording, poem, or signed book.
Create a series. Authenticate your works. Offer them for trade. Invite collectors to discover more of what you do.
And if your work 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 and creators to explore that possibility with me.
Steven Minnaar
Artist & Curator — Minnaar Money
Steven Minnaar
Artist & Collector
Minnaar Money — Art You Can Trade
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 works. 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.