Antoninianus of Gallienus 

Curator: Here we have an Antoninianus of Gallienus, currently held in the Harvard Art Museums. What are your first impressions? Editor: It’s small, worn, and yet intensely evocative. The copper alloy betrays centuries of handling. Curator: The wear itself speaks volumes about circulation, about the very embodiment of the Roman Empire's economic and social life. Its materiality, then, is intrinsically linked to its historical impact. What stories does the portrait tell, do you think? Editor: Absolutely. Look how power, and the emperor's image, was literally impressed upon the means of exchange. Considering the materials from which the coin was made can tell us about trade routes and labor practices. Curator: Considering Gallienus' reign, a period of intense political instability and military crisis, this coin becomes a poignant symbol of imperial ambition and, perhaps, the fragility of power. Editor: I agree completely; a little object that carries so much. It makes you think about the many hands it passed through.