It is amazing to think, as we run our fingers over the bold surface of this Roman bronze, that others held it just this way centuries ago. Such a coin represented a considerable sum when the Roman Empire stretched from Spain to Persia, from England to Egypt. Bearing the noble portrait of a young emperor, it evokes a mood of power and grandeur. Time has done nothing to lessen its impact on the senses. As we hold it today, we connect ourselves directly with that vanished world.