Serrate Denarius of Ti. Claudius Ti.f. Ap.n. Nero, Rome c. 79 BCE

Curator: This is a Serrate Denarius of Ti. Claudius Ti.f. Ap.n. Nero, crafted in Rome by the moneyer Ti. Claudius Ti.f. Ap.n. Nero. Editor: It looks so small and unassuming, yet it carries such a weight of history. I’m struck by the tension between the idealized portrait and the rough, serrated edge. Curator: The serrated edge served a practical purpose – to assure people the coin was solid silver, not plated. But it also adds a layer of visual texture, almost like a halo. Editor: The image of Diana in her chariot, though, feels particularly potent. It evokes a sense of divine power and the state's authority, but it is an authority built, in part, on controlling resources, isn’t it? Curator: Absolutely. Coins were propaganda, communicating power structures and cultural values through carefully chosen iconography, and Diana here is a powerful symbol. Editor: It is a reminder that even the smallest objects can tell the largest stories about power, belief, and the ever-present tension between image and reality.