Coin of Resaina under Severus Alexander c. 3th century

Curator: This coin, originating from Resaina under Severus Alexander and currently held in the Harvard Art Museums, immediately strikes me with its worn surface, almost obscuring the imagery. Editor: It's incredible how the act of minting—the labor, the materiality of the metal, and the social context of its use as currency—connects us to a whole empire’s economy and its global interactions. Curator: Absolutely. And formally, notice the composition—the careful arrangement of figures and text, despite the coin's diminutive scale. The design still speaks volumes about power and authority. Editor: The wear is the story. Each scratch and pit tells a tale of exchange, of hands passing it along, linking people in a vast network of trade and governance. Curator: I see that history etched into the surface, but also a deliberate composition, intending to project an image of imperial strength. Editor: Yes, but its true strength lies in what it enabled—the movement of goods, the payment of soldiers, the very fabric of daily life woven through the social production of value. Curator: Fascinating how different perspectives can reveal entirely different aspects of the same object. Editor: Indeed, it demonstrates that both the material and the symbolic are two sides of the same coin.