Coin of Tiberius II c. 579

Curator: Here we have a coin of Tiberius II, currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. It's quite small, about 14 grams. Editor: The patina is quite striking, almost as if the coin is trying to blend back into the earth from whence it came. So many hands it must have passed through! Curator: Right? Think about the sheer labor involved in its creation, from mining the metal to the striking of the design. It speaks volumes about trade routes and economic systems of the time. Editor: I see stories etched in its surface. Imagining the marketplace where someone might have bartered with this very coin. A tangible link to a world long gone. Curator: It's amazing how one object can hold so much weight, isn't it? Editor: Exactly! A true testament to the enduring power of material culture.