Antoninianus of Probus 277 - 282

Curator: Immediately, it whispers of power, doesn't it? Despite its humble scale, there's a monumental quality to this small coin. Editor: Indeed! What we have here is an Antoninianus of Probus, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a fascinating object. Curator: The iconography is so potent. We see Probus himself, rendered in profile, almost god-like. And then, on the reverse, two figures stand in apparent harmony. What do they represent to you? Editor: I'm more struck by the materiality, actually. The wear and tear, the sense of it passing through so many hands… bronze really grounds it. Curator: But think of what those hands represented! Soldiers, merchants, citizens – all unified, in a way, by this single, symbolic object. Editor: A shared material culture shaping a collective memory, it is quite interesting how a small object like this can hold so much history. Curator: Precisely. It speaks volumes, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. It is remarkable indeed.