Coin of Maurice Tiberius c. 581 - 592

This bronze coin of Maurice Tiberius sits here in Harvard. Just looking at it, you can tell it’s been around a while. I love that, it feels like a physical embodiment of time. The surface is worn, almost like a very old, cracked painting. The original design—the emperor’s portrait and the cross—are now more like ghosts, and the color palette is muted, almost monochromatic. Look at the way the details have softened. It's like a visual echo of countless transactions. Each imperfection tells a story, a tiny rebellion against perfect representation. Coins are interesting, because they have to be cast with care. It’s an object made for circulation, made to be easily recognized. This one has a sense of material decay but it also makes you think about how art, like money, acquires new meanings and value over time. Maybe that is its true value, not what it was worth, but what it can mean.