As of Crispina c. 180 - 183

Curator: Let's look at this coin titled "As of Crispina," created by Commodus. It's currently held in the Harvard Art Museums, with a weight of 11g. Editor: It looks like something you'd find buried in a pirate's chest—all dark and worn, whispering stories of forgotten empires. Curator: Indeed, the imagery is potent. On one side, we see a regal portrait—likely Crispina herself— while the other depicts figures with wheat, suggesting themes of prosperity or imperial bounty. Editor: It's incredible to think that this tiny object was once a currency, a symbol of power, changing hands, maybe deciding someone's fate. Curator: Absolutely, these coins were powerful tools. They helped to propagate specific ideologies and project imperial strength. Editor: Makes you wonder about the hands it passed through, the stories it could tell. It’s heavy with history, isn’t it? Curator: It certainly is—a cultural artifact resonating with symbolic echoes of an ancient world. Editor: A small object, yet a portal into imagining the vastness of the past.