Coin (AE2) of Honorius, Nicomedia c. 4th century

Curator: Well, this is a bronze coin, an AE2 of Honorius from Nicomedia, now residing at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: There's a haunting quality to it, isn't there? The way the details are softened by age... a ghostly echo of imperial power. Curator: Indeed. Coins like this were not merely currency. They were instruments of propaganda, disseminating the image of the emperor and reinforcing his authority. Editor: The portrait...it’s a standardized image, yet I wonder what it meant to the people who handled it daily? Did they see divine right, or just another day under imperial rule? Curator: Both, perhaps. The image was meant to evoke a sense of stability and permanence. The Roman state projecting its own power. Editor: Makes you wonder about the stories this little coin could tell if it could speak. The markets it passed through, the hands it touched... Curator: Exactly. It serves as a tangible link to a distant past, reminding us of the ever shifting nature of power and the symbols we create to uphold it. Editor: A tiny object, packed with the weight of empire.