Tetradrachm of Philip III, Babylon c. 323

Curator: Here we have a tetradrachm, a silver coin minted in Babylon under Philip III of Macedonia. Its small scale belies a grand history. Editor: It feels cold, doesn't it? Like a fragment of a forgotten empire, weighty with stories we can only guess at. Curator: On one side is a profile of Heracles, and on the other, Zeus is enthroned, holding an eagle—potent symbols of power and divinity. Editor: Consider the labor involved, mining the silver, striking the die, distributing these coins. Each one a tiny assertion of control, greasing the wheels of a vast machine. It must have taken armies of laborers. Curator: Absolutely. But it also speaks to something deeper, the human need to leave a mark, to be remembered, even in something as small as a coin. Editor: A desire for immortality, stamped onto metal. Perhaps that's the coldest thing of all.