AR Trajan Decius 

Editor: Here we have a coin, "AR Trajan Decius," by Trajan Decius. It looks like silver. I am struck by how such a small object could carry so much meaning and, perhaps, power. How do you interpret this object? Curator: Well, let's consider the coin's material: silver. Where did that silver come from? Who mined it, and under what conditions? The production process speaks volumes about the Roman Empire's economic and labor systems. Editor: I never thought about the silver itself. So, the coin tells a story about labor and extraction? Curator: Exactly. It's not just an image of an emperor, but a material object deeply embedded in the Roman world's production and consumption networks. It makes you wonder about the hands it passed through. Editor: That's fascinating. I'll definitely look at ancient objects differently from now on.