Aureus of Trajan struck for Matidia, Rome c. 112 - 117

Curator: Here we have a Roman gold aureus struck for Matidia, now residing in the Harvard Art Museums. It's remarkably tiny, you know? Almost fits in the palm of your hand. Editor: The weight of history in your hand, though. And look at that gleam – that's pure, unadulterated power rendered into a portable form. What would a thing like this buy you back then? Curator: Oh, everything and nothing, I suppose! But more materially, it's fascinating how the coin immortalizes Matidia. It must have been an immense task to strike each individual coin with such precision in the first place. Editor: It speaks volumes about labor, doesn’t it? To create such a lasting impression, with a die no doubt painstakingly carved by hand. It makes you think about the artisans, the working class people who brought something like this to life. Curator: Absolutely. And that connection is tangible, literally, every time someone handled this coin. Editor: Makes you wonder what kind of hands it passed through, what stories it could tell. It is still in pretty good condition to this day.