Coin of Cotiaeum under Philip I 244 - 249

Editor: Here we have a coin, a Coin of Cotiaeum, made under Philip I, the Arab. It has a beautiful patina, but it's hard to make out the details. What do you see in this tiny window into the past? Curator: I see empire and identity, quite literally pressed into metal. Can you imagine the stories this little coin could tell? Perhaps tales of merchants, soldiers, or even emperors? Think of it as a pocket-sized monument, surviving across centuries. Editor: I never thought of it that way, as a monument. I just saw an old coin! Curator: Exactly! And that's the magic, isn't it? Art, in any form, invites us to see the familiar in a completely new light. Editor: I'll never look at a coin the same way again. Curator: And that's the point, isn't it? To change the way we see.