Coin of Justin II c. 570 - 571

Curator: Here we have a fascinating coin issued during the reign of Justin II. Editor: It feels like a fragment, almost illegible, yet strangely imposing in its miniature scale. Curator: Indeed. Coins like this acted as potent carriers of imperial ideology. On one side, we see Justin enthroned alongside what is likely the personification of the city of Constantinople. Editor: The hieratic composition centers power; the figures rigidly aligned, their gazes directed outward as assertions of authority. Curator: The other side features a large 'M', indicating the coin's denomination, flanked by inscriptions. It's a blend of functional information and symbolic weight. Editor: Consider the weight of this small object, both literal and symbolic. It represents the reach of the empire reduced to something you can hold in your hand. Curator: It’s a reminder that even the most mundane objects can be repositories of cultural memory. Editor: Yes, and how form, even at this scale, reinforces systems of power.