Coin of Philip V of Macedonia c. 221

Curator: This object is a coin of Philip V of Macedonia, residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. Its weight is recorded at 5.42 grams. Editor: It feels so weighty for something so small. It’s dark, pitted, like time itself has been eating away at it. Curator: Indeed. These coins were essential for administering his kingdom, facilitating trade, and compensating labor. Think of the hands it passed through. Editor: It makes you wonder about those people, doesn't it? What did they buy with this coin? Did they even understand the king's face on it? Curator: The imagery would have been a direct propaganda line from Philip V: an assertion of power, control, and Macedonian identity. Editor: It's a humbling experience, holding something so small and feeling the weight of so much history. Curator: A tangible link to an ancient economy and the social structures supporting it. Editor: Precisely. A tiny window into a long-lost world.