Coin of Phokas c. 605 - 606

Editor: Here we have a coin of Phokas, weighing 9.84 grams, over at the Harvard Art Museums. It looks pretty worn, but you can still see figures. What do you see in this piece, from a materialist perspective? Curator: It's fascinating to consider this coin not just for its imagery, but as a product of labor and material extraction. Where did the metal come from? Who mined it, refined it, and then physically struck these coins? This small object represents a complex network of production and consumption. Editor: So, you're less focused on who Phokas was and more on the people who made the coin that bears his image? Curator: Precisely. The value isn't inherent but assigned, based on material scarcity, labor investment, and the authority it represents. Considering the coin as a commodity reveals the economic structures of the time. Editor: That’s an interesting way to think about it. I never considered all the hands involved. Curator: Indeed. It grounds the narrative in the realities of the people who made the empire function.