Coin of Manuel I 1143 - 1180

Curator: This is a coin issued under Manuel I, weighing just over 3 grams and roughly 2.6 centimeters in diameter. Editor: It looks so worn. It feels heavy with the weight of history; I wonder whose hands it passed through? Curator: Precisely! Coins weren't just currency. They were miniature billboards, projecting power. The imagery, though faded, would have been laden with symbolic intent. Editor: What statements were they trying to make? How did this impact society at the time? Were there communities excluded from this projection of wealth? Curator: These images helped normalize an imperial aesthetic; they were a portable propaganda piece. Editor: It's incredible to think how this tiny object carries so much cultural and historical weight. Curator: Yes, it’s a physical link to a bygone era, still posing potent questions.