Ancient Sex Coins / Tokens, Spintria, researched, VERY RARE, Electroplated?

Description: Ancient Brothel Token / Coin (Maybe) Made from Lead, this super rare coinis about the size of a quarter, very heavy, actual coin shows possible signs of gold, either electroplated, or, my idea, is they rubbed finely powdered gold or silver on the coin, and "set" it by slight heating? Here's some information I've gleaned from various sites with several ideas of just what these coins were used for. A spintria (plural, spintriae) is a small bronze or brass Roman token. The tokens usually depict on the obverse an image of sexual acts or symbols and a numeral in the range I - XVI on the reverse.One idea is that it was possibly used in brothels, although none of the literature on the spintriae contains any evidence to support this assertion. Another idea is that they were used as locker tokens in suburban baths.[1]They were all produced at a single office around 22 to 37 CE.Some scholars, following Friedlander's (1886) suggestion that the tokens were used to obtain entry to brothels ("auf die man in Bordelle Einlass erhielt"), have argued that spintriae were used to pay prostitutes, although none offer any supporting evidence. Buttrey is dismissive of the brothel token idea, asserting "there is no evidence for any of this" (Buttrey 1973, p. 53). Currently, only Simonetta and Riva are supporters of the brothel token hypothesis,[5] which is also popular with the media (see Duggan 2016); other scholars pursue alternate lines of enquiry (Buttrey; Campana; Duggan; Fishburn; etc.). Under Caracalla, an equestrian was sentenced to death for bringing a coin with the emperor's likeness into a brothel; he was spared only by the emperor's own death.[6] There is no direct ancient evidence, however, to support the theory that spintriae were created as tokens for exchange in place of official coinage. Numismatist Theodore V. Buttrey suggests that they were used as game pieces.[7] although Duggan (2016) notes there are no archaeological finds to confirm the spintriae were gaming pieces.It has been suggested that the most plausible explanation seems to be that they were used as locker tokens in suburban baths.[1][3] On the walls of the suburban baths in Pompeii there are frescos that have been painted with sexual scenes that are the same as the ones on the coins.[1] On these sexual scenes painted on the frescos there were also "...accompanying numerals, as appear on the reverses"[1][3] of the coins. When the spintria was given as a token it gave a person access to a locker where clothes could be stored while bathing.[1][3][8]Spintriae also do not have wearing that is evident on coins that have been in mass circulation and there are also relatively few compared with the amount of official coins that exist.[1] The spintriae were also all produced at a single office around 22-37 CE,[1] a short period of time.Another idea is that they were possibly an attempt at increasing revenue.[1] This attempt may have been related to the prohibition of carrying coins into brothels that had an image of the emperor on them.[1] After a short amount of time they may have been able to see that if it were to continue it could have adverse effects for brothels or bring them to a standstill and they ceased being used.Spintriae are small brass or bronze tokens from the Roman period, depicting graphic scenes of sexual acts or symbols that range from I-XVI.It is speculated that the tokens were used for access or payment in brothels, with tokens showing scenes involving male and female figures, although some examples have been uncovered that may show homosexual acts. Brothels, commonly called a lupanar or lupanarium were licensed and well documented in literary sources and contemporary regional lists. Licensed brothels were owned and managed by a leno (pimp) or a lena (madam), whilst the latter acted as an agent and used a secretary called a villicus puelarum to manage the prostitutes and determine pricing for services.A higher classed prostitute was registered with the aediles and was known as a meretrix, whilst the more pejorative scortum could be used for prostitutes of either gender. Unregistered prostitutes fell under the broad category of prostibulae and were generally sex slaves or lower classed prostitutes in unregistered brothels. FURTHER: Evidence for spintriae being brothel tokens is limited, with the only associated accounts being a short phrase from Suetonius (Lives of the Caesars, Tiberius); and the second, from an epigram by Martial.Suetonius documents: “After the defendant had been condemned, this kind of accusation gradually went so far that even such acts as these were regarded as capital crimes: to beat a slave near a statue of Augustus, or to change one’s clothes there; to carry a ring or coin stamped with his image [the Emperor] into a privy or a brothel, or to criticise any word or act of his” – vaguely suggesting that normal coinage was a crime to use as currency in a brothel.Other theories suggest that spintriae were gaming tokens, with the numerals playing a role in the game position or scoring, or that they were admission tokens for entry to the theatre or arena games.The most plausible explanation comes from excavations in Pompeii by Luciana Jacobelli, where a large fresco and vases in the Terme Suburbane depicts a series of scenes identical to those that appear on the observes of many spintriae.Jacobelli suggests that the scenes and numerals on the spintriae were locker tokens, corresponding to containers for leaving clothing and belongings whilst bathing in the Terme Suburbane.Spintriae were Roman tokens (tessera) depicting erotic scenes during the early empire and probably related to prostitution in brothels. However, it is worth emphasizing that to this day their function and purpose have not been fully explained and there are various hypotheses.The tokens were struck on bronze discs (less often copper 16-19 mm) with a diameter of approx. 20-22 mm. On one side we see the image of erotic scenes and sexual symbols. Thirteen representations of sexual positions are counted, divided into three groups: fellatio (the woman orally satisfies the man), symplegma (proper intercourse, during which the man usually holds the woman’s legs), and the moment just before intercourse. The rest are modifications of these three performances. Various hypotheses have been put forward regarding the use of these items. According to one of them, spintriae was released during the reign of Tiberius (13-37 CE) to discredit the power of the immoral emperor. Suetonius wrote about the emperor:On retiring to Capri he devised a pleasance for his secret orgies: teams of wantons of both sexes, selected as experts in deviant intercourse and dubbed analists, copulated before him in triple unions to excite his flagging passions. Its bedrooms were furnished with the most salacious paintings and sculptures, as well as with an erotic library, in case a performer should need an illustration of what was required. Then in Capri’s woods and groves he arranged a number of nooks of venery where boys and girls got up as Pans and nymphs solicited outside bowers and grottoes: people openly called this “the old goat’s garden,” punning on the island’s name.– Suetonius, Tiberius, 43So the spintriae were intended to illustrate what happened on that island when the emperor settled there. The very word spintriae from Greek means “anal sphincter”, and Suetonius used this term to describe sexual practices other than generally accepted as the norm. We see draperies on the tokens in erotic scenes, which caused the presumption that they were palace interiors.They were also seen, among others tokens (tokens) intended for a specific type of game, as well as entrance signs (brands) for public baths or for frivolous performances in street theatres. This type of hypothesis was presented already around the 17th century by Joseph Eckel in Doctrina Numorum Veterum, who was one of the first to try to explain the meaning of tokens and to assign them to specific times. He associated the appearance of spintrae with circus games organized under Diocletian, based on Marcjalis’ accounts1. It is also believed that tokens may have been collected and exchanged.Most of all, however, they were considered tokens used in brothels (lupanars). Using them there instead of money would be dictated by the statutory prohibition of bringing coins with the image of the ruling person to places of debauchery.The numbers displayed on the chips (often with the letter “A” added) would represent the prices for the relevant type of service expressed in assarius; the most expensive would be the denarius value (= 16 aces). It was also assumed that these numbers could denote numbers of rooms in a brothel, and even a specific position at the ratio (the letter A was combined with the word accubitio – laying).The mysterious discs were also to be associated with the cult of fertility. It was hypothesized that the tokens were used to play as tickets to theatres, tokens symbolizing colleges. However, it should be emphasized: almost all hypotheses have understatements and there is no sure answer to what spintriae really were. SO, it's hard to say just why these things were made. But they're a uniquelook-back to our past, about One Thousand Nine Hundred years ago.

Price: 35 USD

Location: Osage Beach, Missouri

End Time: 2024-09-25T13:50:12.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD