Dupondius of Antoninus Pius c. 156 - 157

Editor: This is a Dupondius of Antoninus Pius, located at the Harvard Art Museums. It's small and worn, giving it an aura of mystery. What stories do you think this little coin could tell? Curator: Ah, if only it could speak! This coin, likely bronze, whispers of power and empire. Notice the portrait—a deliberate attempt to project authority. But consider the everyday hands it passed through. Editor: So, it's a symbol of power meeting the mundane? Curator: Precisely! A reminder that even emperors are part of the larger human story, stamped, quite literally, on the lives of their subjects. It makes you wonder about the value we place on these sorts of symbols today, doesn’t it? Editor: Definitely gives a new perspective. I'll never look at spare change the same way. Curator: And that, my friend, is the magic of art.