Wijnand Struif is slowly but surely turning to dust in his office in the oldest Dutch University in Leiden. And he is fully content with it. But the university threatens to close the Numismatics Institute (the science of examining historical coins). Now that he might lose his job he has to choose, do I put up a fight or do I flee. In an ultimate attempt to prove his right to exist, he risks losing everything he values.

The ceiling is falling apart, dust lies thick on the bookcases and the mice are eating their way through impressive yet outdated reference books. This is the office of Wijnand Struif, scientist in Leiden. He cannot – and will not – imagine working anywhere else. This is his work, his home, his life.

But the university is changing. Old traditions have to make room for new ideas, institutes that don’t make enough money are being closed and small faculties are forced to merge. Wijnand stands with his back against the wall. The university’s manager Sjuul van Baarlo wants to use the old coins to fill a whole in his budget.
Luckely, Wijnand’s former tutor Simon Jagtman is now a popular figure. Together with Simon and the archeology student Taziri Azulay they try to digitize the collection, giving the institute a present-day appearance and a reason for its existence. Wijnand’s optimism is growing but Simon and Taziri are also looking for their opportunities.

How can society estimate the value of things? How can an ever changing society appreciate its own history and culture? Everything of Value is a story about silver and gold, original and copy, body and soul. Van Oord shows us developments and relations that will leave no reader unmoved.