Coin of Constantine IX c. 11th century

Editor: Here we have a gold coin of Constantine IX, from the Harvard Art Museums. It’s striking how the value of the material itself, gold, intersects with its function as currency and representation of power. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a confluence of power, labor, and material. The gold itself speaks to the wealth extraction and control necessary to mint such an item. The act of production, engraving the dies, was a skilled labor, essential to both propagate and legitimize the emperor’s authority. Editor: So, the very process of making it reinforces the social hierarchy? Curator: Exactly. This isn't just about aesthetics; it's about understanding the socio-economic factors embedded within the coin's materiality and manufacturing. Editor: That gives me a whole new appreciation for something I would have just seen as an artifact of wealth. Curator: Precisely. It reveals layers of production, power, and societal structure encoded in a single object.