Trachy nomisma of Andronicos I, Constantinople c. 1183 - 1185

Curator: This is a trachy nomisma, a coin from Constantinople, made during the reign of Andronicos I. It’s a small, weighty thing, just over 5 grams. Editor: Heavy with history, I’d say! Look at the patinated bronze, that green-blue whisper of time. It feels strangely melancholic. Curator: Indeed. One side features Christ, the other, likely Emperor Andronicos himself. The shallow relief and the coin's curvature give it a tactile quality. Editor: The figures are so stylized, aren’t they? Flattened, almost spectral. And that crack… Like a tiny earthquake split its face. Adds to the drama. Curator: It speaks to power, to faith, to the everyday transactions of a vast empire. Imagine all the hands it passed through. Editor: Makes you wonder about the stories this little coin could tell, if it could only talk. A silent witness to so much. Curator: A tangible link to the past, certainly, and perhaps a reflection on the transient nature of power. Editor: Well, I’m certainly glad it survived long enough to leave us pondering.