As of Julia Mamaea 226

Curator: Here we have a bronze coin, "As of Julia Mamaea," currently residing in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: This piece is intensely tactile. You can almost feel the weight of time and the hands that exchanged it. Curator: Coins like these served as tools of political propaganda, circulating imperial imagery and projecting power throughout the Roman Empire. Editor: It makes me wonder about the messages we send today with our own currency, the faces we choose to immortalize. Who decides, and what does that say about us? Curator: Well, Julia Mamaea was a powerful woman; mother of Emperor Severus Alexander, she wielded considerable influence behind the scenes. This coin reflects her status and visibility within the empire. Editor: It's beautiful, really, how something so small could carry so much significance, so much history, right in your pocket.