Tornese of Andronikos III c. 1328 - 1341

Curator: This object is a tornese, a coin, issued by Andronikos III Palaiologos. You can find it here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: They look like small, unassuming discs. You can sense the handling, the wear, a tangible history right there. Curator: Indeed. Andronikos III ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 14th century. The images and inscriptions on the coin would have been carefully chosen to project power and legitimacy during a period of political instability. Editor: The metal itself would have been part of that projection, wouldn't it? How much did the materials used to produce it influence the perceived value and, consequently, the power it held? It's labor distilled into a tiny, portable form. Curator: Exactly. Minting coins was a prerogative of the state, and this coin reminds us of the Byzantine Empire's complex economic and political systems. Editor: Holding this would really connect someone to the material realities of the era, a very physical link to a world of trade and power. Curator: It is compelling to consider how something so small could carry such weight in the broader historical narrative. Editor: Absolutely. It makes you wonder about the hands it passed through, the transactions it facilitated, and the stories it could tell.