Sestertius of Commodus 

Curator: Here we have a sestertius, a bronze coin, of Commodus, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels heavy, doesn’t it? Not just in its 19.96 grams, but in its history—worn smooth by hands long gone. Curator: Indeed. The production of coinage like this sestertius was carefully controlled, a means to disseminate images and messages of imperial power. Commodus himself would have been keenly aware of its value as propaganda. Editor: Propaganda as art, even? I see the corrosion almost like an abstract expressionist painting, obscuring power, revealing decay. Curator: An apt observation. The coin's material reality—its metallic composition, its wear and tear—speaks volumes about economics, trade, and the emperor's legacy. Editor: It’s strange how something so small can contain so much, like a tiny, tangible echo of a lost world. Curator: Precisely, a reminder of the complex interplay between power, materiality, and the narratives we construct about the past.