Denarius of Faustina I 147 - 161

Editor: Here we have a Denarius of Faustina I. It’s a small, silver coin, worn with age, but still depicting the Empress. What does this object tell you? Curator: The coin's materiality is key. Silver wasn't just money; it represented Roman power and its vast reach. The minting process, a form of early industrial production, also becomes significant when considering the distribution of wealth and control within the empire. Editor: So, it’s less about the image and more about the silver itself? Curator: Precisely. The coin isn't just an image of Faustina, it's a statement about Rome's economic engine and its dependence on material resources and labor. Editor: That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered before. Curator: Examining the materials and production shifts our focus from the individual to the larger systems at play.