Denarius of Septimius Severus c. 200

Curator: Here we have a Denarius of Septimius Severus, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a fascinating artifact, offering a window into the power dynamics of the Roman Empire. Editor: It feels so weighty, despite being so small. Like a tiny, dense universe of stories. You can almost feel the cold metal against your palm. Curator: Indeed. Coins like this weren't just currency; they were tools of propaganda, circulating images of power and authority throughout the empire. Septimius Severus used these to solidify his legitimacy after a period of civil war. Editor: The face feels so stern, like a judgment. I wonder what daily life was like for people who used these. Did they ever look at this face and wonder about the man behind it? Curator: Absolutely. And consider the implications of that widespread, yet mediated, access. This coin becomes a key artifact in understanding Roman imperial ideology and the projection of power, gender, and race. Editor: It's wild to think something so small could hold so much weight—literally and figuratively! Now I can't help but see it as a tiny mirror reflecting a whole empire.