Coin of Manuel I c. 12th century

Curator: Here we have a "Coin of Manuel I," held in the Harvard Art Museums, weighing a mere 3.67 grams. Editor: It’s striking how worn the image is; a palpable sense of time and use. Curator: Indeed. Its diminutive size speaks volumes about its intended function: facilitating everyday exchange and perhaps projecting imperial power on a micro-scale. The material itself, presumably a base metal, reflects the economic realities of the period. Editor: But consider the iconography—the faint figures etched into the surface. Don’t they suggest something grander? Echoes of Byzantine authority, divine right perhaps? Even in such a humble object, these symbols speak volumes about cultural aspirations and the projection of power. Curator: I'm more fascinated by the process—the labor involved in its creation, the social and economic forces that dictated its form and circulation. Editor: Perhaps, but those very forces shaped the symbols themselves. Curator: A coin both reveals the material conditions of its making and projects symbolic authority. Editor: Exactly! Both humble token and powerful emblem, bound by use.