Countermarked Coin of Antiochos II from Sardis c. 250

Curator: This is a Countermarked Coin of Antiochos II from Sardis, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Weighing just over four grams, it's a small window into a vast historical landscape. Editor: Its diminutive size belies a certain grandiosity, though. The patinated surface obscures detail, yet the forms are resolutely present. There's a sculptural quality that arrests the eye. Curator: Indeed. The countermarking itself speaks volumes about economic and political shifts, about changing power dynamics within the region. The coin served a purpose far beyond its inherent value. Editor: And formally, that disruption adds a layer of visual complexity. The altered surface creates a kind of palimpsest, where the original intention contends with later impositions. Curator: Exactly! The coin, therefore, becomes a tangible record of cultural adaptation and perhaps even resistance. It invites speculation about the lives of those who handled it. Editor: Seeing the layers of symbolic inscription and physical alteration certainly prompts reflection on its journey across time. Fascinating.