Antoninianus of Probus 277 - 282

Curator: This object is an Antoninianus, a coin of Probus, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. I’m immediately struck by how the metallic degradation lends a certain gravity. Editor: It does, and I see a parallel to the decay of empires, the inevitable transience of power and material culture. Who exactly was Probus and how might this coin play into his rule? Curator: Probus was a Roman emperor and, as we can see from the coin's manufacture and wide distribution, imperial power was intrinsically linked to the control and dissemination of currency. Its material, its weight of just over 3 grams, speaks to standardization. Editor: The coin also served as propaganda. The image of the emperor on one side and a symbol of Roman authority on the other presented power relations through visual messaging. Curator: And we should consider the laborers involved in its creation, from the mining of the metal to the striking of the die. Editor: Indeed. The Antoninianus connects to systems of labor, hierarchy, and ideology. It's a humble object, yet holds immense historical weight. Curator: Absolutely, a tiny microcosm of a grand, complicated narrative. Editor: Precisely. It speaks volumes, doesn't it?