Denarius of Cn. Cornelius Cn.f. Blasio, Rome c. 112

Curator: This is a Denarius of Cn. Cornelius Cn.f. Blasio, a Roman coin now held at the Harvard Art Museums. The moneyer, Cn. Cornelius Cn.f. Blasio, placed his mark on this artifact, giving it his name. Editor: It feels remarkably intimate for something so old, doesn't it? The worn silver lends it a quiet gravity. Curator: Indeed, the silver composition speaks to the resources commanded by the Roman Republic. Its small size also reveals the practical concerns around trade and material exchange. Editor: For me, it's more about the symbolism; that diademed head, likely a deity, and the figures on the reverse – they whisper of power and divine endorsement. Curator: Quite. The act of striking the coin itself—the labor, the technology, and the politics behind it—reveal how Roman identity was constructed through material means. Editor: And how those images helped to perpetuate those ideas. The symbols, even in miniature, carried immense weight. Curator: A fitting artifact to remind us that value is always both material and symbolic. Editor: Yes, a potent combination, captured in a small coin.