Countermarked siglos of the Achaemenid kings c. 445

Curator: This is a pair of countermarked siglos coins, attributed to the Achaemenid Kings, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection and weighing just over 5.5 grams. Editor: The immediate sense is tactile, like ancient river stones worn smooth, yet each retains an imprinted authority. Curator: Yes, the countermarks are fascinating. Each coin bears symbols, evidence of subsequent authorities validating or re-issuing the original currency. It transforms the object’s meaning. Editor: Absolutely, you can almost feel the hands that touched these, the markets where they circulated. It makes you consider the labor involved, the value assigned. Curator: Precisely! A simple coin, elevated through its repeated modification, it offers a complex narrative of power, economics, and visual communication. Editor: Yes, a testament to how meaning is layered through time and labor, visible in the very composition of the coin.