- Spintria
A spintria (
plural , "spintriae ") is a Roman token, possibly forbrothel s, usually depicting sexual acts or symbols.Use
They may have been used to pay
prostitute s, who at times spoke a differentlanguage . While this is subject to argument, the numbers on them line up with known prices for Roman prostitutes (University of Queensland reference). Some theorize them
gaming tokens, and they may have been produced for only a short period, probably in the 1st century A.D.Appearance
There were usually struck from
brass orbronze , and were little smaller than an U.S. quarter.ee also
*
Prostitution in ancient Rome
*Roman currency
*tessera External links and references
Prime sources
* [http://www.uq.edu.au/economics/hetsa/Fishburn%20final.pdf Long, detailed .pdf file, University of Queensland, Australia]
* [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080118.html "Straight Dope" on spintria]
* [http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Spintria The Collaborative Numismatics Project -- dated]
=* [http://www.harrybassfoundation.org/basscatalogs/BASSSALE1/enlarge.asp?id=sale1bw/23009.jpga couple (erotic) photos]
* [http://www.antiquanova.com/images/spviiiit_small.jpgImages]
* [http://www.antiquanova.com/images/spxiiit_small.jpgMore images]
* [http://www.antiquanova.com/images/spxii.jpgMore images]
* [http://www.antiquanova.com/images/spv.jpgMore images]
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