Follis of Maximinus Daza 310 - 311

Curator: Before us is the Follis of Maximinus Daza, a copper alloy coin residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. The patina immediately suggests a profound history. Editor: Indeed. The worn surfaces hint at the coin's journey through time, its imagery now softened, almost spectral. There is a solemnity to this diminishment. Curator: Observe the deliberate arrangement of the obverse, featuring the emperor’s profile. Note the careful balance between idealized form and the material constraints of its miniscule scale. Editor: And the reverse depicts what appears to be a standing figure. Given the ruler, might this allude to a divine protector or even Maximinus himself embodying certain virtues? Curator: Perhaps. The coin’s value isn’t merely monetary, but in its function as a vehicle for imperial propaganda, a semiotic device if you will. Editor: It serves as a powerful relic, a tangible link to a bygone empire and the enduring human impulse to imprint meaning onto even the smallest of objects. Curator: A testament to the power of design, even across millennia. Editor: Quite so, an echo of power and belief.