Stater of Baalmelek I c. 479

Curator: Here we have the Stater of Baalmelek I, a coin weighing just over 10 grams, currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. The immediate impression is its crude, almost primal form. Editor: Indeed. The die work, while exhibiting the conventions of coin imagery, emphasizes the labor and process behind its creation, the very act of striking metal. It speaks to a rudimentary economic system. Curator: Observe the heraldic lion on one face, rendered with a surprising degree of naturalism despite its simplified execution. The composition displays a clear attempt at symbolic representation, power, and dominion. Editor: And what of the metal itself? The wear and patination are testaments to circulation, trade, and the countless hands it passed through. Its value resides not only in its symbolism but in its concrete history. Curator: A beautiful confluence of material and sign. Editor: Precisely, a physical manifestation of economic and artistic production.