Denarius of Septimius Severus c. 201 - 206

Curator: This is a denarius of Septimius Severus, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. What strikes you about it? Editor: The sheer endurance of this tiny coin is remarkable. It has survived millennia, carrying impressions of power, yet feeling fragile in its aged state. Curator: Exactly. Coins like this were crucial tools of imperial propaganda and economic control. Severus, a military man, seized power during a period of intense political instability. Editor: Right. The imagery would have been carefully chosen to project strength and legitimacy amidst that instability, sending messages about identity. What symbols do you notice? Curator: We see Severus himself, depicted in profile, laureate, conveying authority through a classical idiom. The reverse likely features a deity, reinforcing the emperor’s divinely sanctioned rule. Editor: And considering this was readily circulated, it speaks volumes about how power permeates even the smallest, most mundane aspects of daily life. Curator: Precisely. It makes you consider how the politics of imagery shaped ancient lives. Editor: Yes. It underscores the degree to which such a tiny coin can embody massive socio-political forces.