Spintria

Common card · No. 316747

A spintria (plural, spintriae) is a small bronze or brass Roman token that typically has a sexual image on one side, and a numeral ranging from I to XVI on the other. They are about 24 mm in diameter. The scenes of couples are typical expressions of sexuality in ancient Rome as found in other explicit art, depicting both female-male and male-male sex acts. Known spintriae were all produced at a single location. Of the two sets found, the production of the first dates from 22 to 37 CE and the second from 30 to 79 CE. They show no wear from circulation. Certainty about their use has eluded scholars, who have offered conjectures ranging from brothel passes, "locker room" tokens at the baths, or gaming pieces.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Gaston Vorberg, Public domain