Coin of Lucius Verus c. 2th century

Editor: Here we have a coin of Lucius Verus from the Harvard Art Museums. It's small, worn, but undeniably carries a sense of history. What sort of stories do you think this object holds? Curator: It's a portal, really. Look at the emperor's profile, the goddess on the reverse. These aren't just images; they are concentrated symbols of power, divinity, and the Roman ideal. How might the people of the time have interpreted these images and their meaning? Editor: Perhaps as propaganda, designed to reinforce Verus's authority and connect him to the gods? Curator: Precisely! And consider the coin's journey through time. Each hand that held it, each transaction it facilitated, added to its symbolic weight. It's a material embodiment of cultural memory. Editor: That’s fascinating. It makes you think about how everyday objects become powerful symbols over centuries. Curator: Indeed. The images, however mundane, speak volumes about a society's values.