Tetradrachm of Alexandria under Claudius II c. 269 - 270

Editor: Here we have a Tetradrachm of Alexandria under Claudius II, a silver coin from the Roman era. It feels almost crude in its manufacture, yet it served a vital purpose. What can we learn from it? Curator: Focus on the material itself. Silver wasn’t just pulled from the earth. Mining, refining, minting: each step involved labor and economic structures. This coin represents a whole system of extraction and control. Who benefited from that system? Editor: So, it’s less about the Emperor's portrait and more about… the process? Curator: Exactly. The image is propaganda, but the silver is reality. The coin's weight tells us something about monetary policy. Its wear reveals circulation patterns. These material facts ground us in the tangible realities of the Roman Empire. Editor: That's a fascinating perspective – seeing the coin as a product of complex social and economic forces rather than just an emblem of power. Curator: Precisely, it allows us to think about labor, and economy in ways we wouldn’t otherwise.