Coin of Ptolemy III of Egypt, Kyrenaica c. 246

Editor: So, this is a coin of Ptolemy III of Egypt from Kyrenaica. It's incredibly small, but it's got a weight of 3.52 grams. It's just incredible to think how much history is literally pressed into these tiny surfaces. What do you see in this piece that jumps out at you? Curator: It’s like holding a whisper from the past, isn’t it? I see the ghost of an empire. Think of the hands this coin passed through – merchants, soldiers, lovers perhaps. The wear and tear tells its own story, like wrinkles on an ancient face, each scratch a memory. Does it speak to you of power, perhaps? Editor: Definitely power. But also resilience, I think. It's survived so long, and is still here in the Harvard Art Museums. I hadn’t thought about it that way before. Curator: Exactly! These objects are more than just artifacts, they're echoes. And who knows what secrets they'll whisper next?