Tetradrachm of Aesillas as Quaestor in Macedonia, Thessalonike 90 - 70 BCE

Curator: This is a Tetradrachm of Aesillas as Quaestor in Macedonia, Thessalonike. Weighing in at 16.41 grams, it offers insight into economic and political systems of the time. Editor: It's strangely…optimistic. The figure has a cheerful, almost mischievous grin. Curator: Indeed. The material is silver, indicative of value, and the imagery speaks to power and prosperity. Editor: And yet, there's something melancholic about holding such a small, dense object, knowing all the labor, all the transactions, all the hands it must have passed through. It's like a tiny, metallic poem of human exchange. Curator: Precisely, the materiality of this coin is inseparable from its socio-economic context, which begs to be interrogated. Editor: Makes you wonder, who last held this coin and what did they purchase with it? I am glad it is being preserved here. Curator: Yes, indeed.