Denarius of Elagabalus c. 220 - 222

Curator: Here we have a denarius of Elagabalus, currently residing in the Harvard Art Museums. The coin is quite small, weighing under 3 grams. Editor: It's a poignant relic, isn't it? The tarnish whispers tales of history and human touch. You can almost feel the weight of its past life. Curator: Indeed. Elagabalus' reign was marked by his flouting of religious traditions and gender norms, behaviors considered scandalous then. The image on the coin signifies the emperor's power, but also, perhaps, the anxieties surrounding his unconventional rule. Editor: And the very materiality of the coin – the silver, the craftsmanship – speaks to the Roman economy and the emperor's attempts to solidify his power through monetary control. What was the purity of the silver? Was debasement a factor during his reign? Curator: Those are essential questions. Looking at this denarius, it brings up broader discussions around the relationship between power, identity, and material culture. Editor: Absolutely. Thinking about the labor that went into extracting the silver, minting the coin... it's a small object holding immense stories. Curator: Precisely. It makes one think about how much of history is filtered through these durable, portable artifacts. Editor: Exactly. A tangible link to a fascinating, if controversial, figure.