AR Caracalla 

Curator: What strikes me immediately is the texture; the worn surface speaks volumes about its age and handling. Editor: Indeed. This is an AR Caracalla coin, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Consider it a form of propaganda. Curator: Propaganda? You mean the way the portrait of Caracalla projects power and authority? Editor: Precisely. Coinage was a key tool for disseminating imperial imagery and asserting control. It was also a financial instrument. Curator: And the figure on the reverse? I see some sort of figure... Editor: That's a representation of Pax, the Roman goddess of peace. It's all carefully considered messaging. Curator: So, it's a tool of empire, both in its visual language and its economic function. Editor: Exactly. It highlights the intersection of art, power, and daily life in the Roman world. Fascinating.