Sestertius of Antoninus Pius c. 145 - 160

Curator: Oh, what a patina! I bet this sestertius of Antoninus Pius could tell a story or two... a marketplace hustle or a soldier's gamble perhaps? Editor: Indeed, it's compelling. You immediately notice the wear, which speaks to its active life as a piece of Roman currency. The very material—its weight of 20.04 grams—signals value, production, and empire. Curator: Value beyond its weight, of course. Look at the detail remaining in Antoninus Pius’s profile! It's not just metal; it’s a tiny, portable sculpture, a whisper of power and legacy. Editor: A legacy literally forged through resource extraction, labor, and trade networks. Consider the miners, the metalworkers, the administrators, all contributing to this little artifact of power. Curator: And now, centuries later, it whispers to us across time about emperors and empires... Isn't it marvelous how a simple coin can hold so much? Editor: Absolutely. It reminds us that art—even functional art like currency—is always embedded in a web of material conditions.