Antoninianus of Claudius II c. 3th century

Editor: Here we have the Antoninianus of Claudius II. Given its wear, I can’t help but think about how many hands this coin passed through. What does this piece say to you? Curator: It speaks of power, not just symbolically, but materially. Consider the minting process, the labor involved in extracting the metals, and the coin's function as a tool of economic and social control. What does its devaluation during Claudius II’s reign tell us about the Roman Empire's crises? Editor: So, it's less about Claudius II himself and more about the system that produced and used this coin? Curator: Precisely. The coin's existence illuminates the very fabric of Roman society, its economic structures, and its inevitable decline.