ARCHAEOLOGY. ANTIQUE ROME. 2 tokens of lupanars,... Lot 1

ARCHAEOLOGY. ANTIQUE ROME. 2 tokens of lupanars, or spintrian tesserae or spintriae, I/IIth century. Glass paste, between 3 and 3.5 cm each. A spintria (plural: spintriae) or spintrienne more accurately is an ancient Roman token depicting a sexual symbol or act that is thought to have been used to pay for prostitutes or entry into lupanars. These erotic tokens are called spintriae or spintrian tesserae by derivation from the Latin word spintria used by Suetonius or Tacitus to qualify the scenes of debauchery of the emperor Tiberius. The relationship between the spintriae and the lupanars is the most commonly accepted explanation, the use of tokens being explained by Tiberius' prohibition to introduce coins bearing the effigy of the emperor in these places of debauchery.