Two Thirds Miliaresion of Michael VII, Constantinople c. 11th century

Curator: This is a "Two Thirds Miliaresion of Michael VII," hailing from Constantinople. Look at the texture, almost like a dried riverbed. Editor: It's easy to forget how silver connected empires. This tiny coin likely fueled Byzantine trade, piece by painstaking piece. It had real heft, I bet. Curator: Funny how something so small held such power. You can almost feel the weight of history in it. Editor: What interests me is the labor—the skilled hands that struck this. Each coin represents someone's wages, someone's daily bread. Curator: It's also a little portal, isn't it? A reminder that even empires crumble. That one-day someone will find that coin in the dirt. Editor: And that's the beauty of it, isn't it? It transcends Michael VII’s reign. It becomes about all the hands it passed through, all the marketplaces it saw. Curator: Precisely. It is a tangible echo of countless stories. Editor: A pocket-sized monument to the everyday.