Follis of Maximian I, Rome 306

Curator: This is a Follis of Maximian I, minted in Rome. The piece weighs 8.93 grams and depicts Emperor Maximian I Herculius. Editor: It's remarkable how the patinated surface lends such a somber and weighty feel to the imagery. The very texture communicates the age and the authority it once held. Curator: The Follis offers a window into the socio-political landscape of the Roman Empire, functioning as currency and propaganda. Its imagery would have reinforced the emperor's power and legitimacy. Editor: Indeed. And yet the composition—the incised profile, the surrounding text, the figure on the reverse—it all works to create a harmonious and powerful symbolic whole. Curator: The coin also reflects the economic and political strategies employed by Maximian to consolidate his rule, revealing the power structures of his reign. Editor: It is compelling how the material qualities of the Follis, along with the formal arrangement of its design elements, still manage to speak to us across the ages.