Anonymous Follis c. 1030 - 1042

Curator: Here we have an Anonymous Follis, a Byzantine coin held in the Harvard Art Museums, weighing just over 10 grams. Editor: It feels heavy, doesn’t it? Not in weight, but in the sense of history pressed into that small, worn metal. Curator: Precisely. Look at the careful design, worn nearly smooth by countless transactions. On one face is the image of Christ, and on the other, a cross. Editor: I see the vertical lines dominating—the cross as a structural element almost more than a symbol, bisecting the circular field. Curator: It's fascinating how a common, everyday object can carry so much religious and political weight, even anonymously. Editor: Yes, it's a reminder that even the smallest things can tell the biggest stories.