Lets see some Pius

I goofed. There are actually four cited in Rostovtsev. I should dig up the other two citations and see if I have a good pedigree here.

 

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Thats cool!

 

Question: If you were one who attended a ceremony dedicating the lighthouse what part did tessara such as this play either before or after the event? Was it an entrance ticket or a take home memento of the day? Did it have a cash value or could be traded in for measure of grain? Did people save/collect such things or show them to their patrons as evidence of participation? In some periods it seems that the mint issued special coins (often asses) for distribution to the crowd but these would have been spendable cash. What, why, who tessara? For something made simply and easily in large or small numbers, we might ask if they were always rare or simple swept out with the refuse explaining why few survive.

 

Kinda like a "No Cash Value" arcade token?

 

Even that would make a good collectable.

 

Wow, an ancient test-token!!

Geesh, I didn't even know that they had vending machines back then!!?

 

These are all excellent questions. According to my model, most tesserae, this included, would have circulated as small-denomination coinage. I have no good archaeological evidence for tokens from the city of Rome, but leads from other areas exhibited a find spot pattern more suggestive of coinage than of tickets.

Your suggestion that these could be kept as a keep sake is interesting. They undoubtedly had a small value in trade, and if a middle-class citizen caught one, they may have been more inclined to hang on to it than drop it in the till.

Who made them? I have no idea. The technical skill demonstrated in the engraving and production is vastly inferior to that of the official mint. This is undoubtedly an intentional move on behalf of the anonymous issuer to reduce production costs. I envision a number of private manufacturers of tesserae, selling tokens to both the government and private individuals, with shopkeepers ordering them to use as change, and patrons ordering them to give to their clients.

 

This one is a coin that I won in a contest from @lordmarcovan: an Antoninus Pius provincial of Antioch on Orontes

 

Just another Æ Sestertius
Rome, 153 – 154 AD
30 x 33.5 mm; 21.20 g

RIC III 914; Cohen II 454; BMCRE IV 1939; Strack III 1091; SRCV II 4183;
Ob.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P XVII laureate head of Antoninus Pius to right; draped on left shoulder
Rev.: INDVLGENTIA AVG COS IIII, Indulgentia, draped, seated left, extending right hand and holding transverse scepter in left; in exergue (S)C

Indulgentia on Roman coins represents some permission given, privilege bestowed, or tribute remitted.

 

Antoninus Pius, Laodicea (Lattaqiyyeh, Syria), AE 24 mm
Obv.: illegible legend mostly out of flan , laureate bust of Antoninus Pius right
Rev.: IOVΛIEωN TωN KAI ΛAODIKEωN , turreted bust of Tyche right ; to the right ΘE, to the left HΠP : year 188 = 140-141 AD.

 

I bought this as when I was a teen visiting Tunisia... It was in Thuburbo Majus. Patinated, corroded, high relief : it was for me, at this time, the very symbol of what an ancient coin was.

Another sestertius of Antoninus Pius (this one posthumous) :

 

Moneta Sestertius

Also a posthumous sestertius:

 

Roman Egypt, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (34mm, 27.68g, 12h). Dated RY 11 (AD 147/148). Obv: ΑVΤ ΚΤΑΙΛ ΑΔΡ-ΑΝΤⲰΝ(Ɛ)ΙΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ-ƐVϹ; Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev: Elpis standing left, holding lotus blossom and raising a fold of her skirt; L ЄNΔ Є KATOV (date) around. Ref: Köln 1578; Dattari (Savio) 2543; K&G 35.404; RPC IV.4 Online 13617; Emmett 1501.11. Very Fine, nice dark patina. Ex Datarri Collection. Ex Colosseum Coin Exchange (Aug 2009).

 

Here are my two examples. First the denarius.



Denarius of Antonius Pius, Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS A P TR P XI “Antoninus, augustus, dutiful, patriotic (Pius Felix) --- Tribune of Rome 11th year.” Reverse: COS IIII, “Consul fourth year.” Denarius of Antoninus Pius, laureate head, Fortuna standing, holding a rudder and globe in her right hand cradling a cornucopia in her left hand. Sear - 4073, Year TR P XI - 148

And then my one and only aureus. I understand that Antoninus Pius is the most common aureus. I really wanted to get at least one.



Aureus of Antonius Pius, Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P IMP II “Antoninus augustus pius father of his country (Pater Patriae) Emperor. Reverse: TR POT XX COS IIII “Tribune Potestas 20 Consul 4 (year 156-7 AD) Victory advancing holding a wreath and palm. Sear 4028