Denarius of Septimius Severus c. 198

Curator: This is a Denarius of Septimius Severus, residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. It weighs in at a mere 2.6 grams. Editor: It feels weighty, doesn't it? Like holding a whisper from an empire. The silver is so worn, you can almost feel the countless hands it passed through. Curator: Indeed. The imagery chosen for coinage was far from arbitrary; on one side we see the emperor himself, his likeness meant to project power and stability. Editor: And on the other, is that a goddess? She looks like she's extending an olive branch. Is it Pax, perhaps? The embodiment of peace? Curator: It is. These symbols acted as propaganda, linking the Emperor to prosperity and divine favor. Editor: It’s a tiny object packed with outsized ambition and meaning. To think this little coin once fueled the machinery of a vast realm is really something. Curator: Absolutely, a symbol of continuity. Editor: Agreed. The past isn’t really gone; it's just changed its form.