I bought this (clay) Tessera because it was so different to the other coins in my collection, and I thought that it had beauty. Also, I haven't seen many on this Forum, and, I am having great difficulty finding a reference for it. My (clay) Tessera differs from most because it is 'oval' in shape (not round) and is 'one-sided'. I am hoping that someone may be able to help me with this one. Any thoughts, anyone, please?
Judging by the facial hair I would guess it was "struck" sometime in the 2nd century. I'll email Gert boersema, he has some knowledge in this regard.
Received a reply from Gert Dear That looks like a clay papyras bulla - or is it lead? Can't judge very well from the photo. Regards Gert
I see these clay tesserae occasionally and I've always wanted one. Would love to know more about them, if anyone here can provide an overview.
Mr. Boersema just suggested that it is not a Tesserae at all, but a papyrus bulla of Marcus Aurelius or Antoninius Pius.
I mean, you could've just typed @Ardatirion - I only have over 250 tesserae. Does this piece have a channel were a string could pass through? If so, then this is a clay seal impression that would have been appended to a document of some sort. If not, then it is one of the numerous fakes on the market at the moment. On the current batch of fakes: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=104760.0 An authentic piece that I own: A FAKE that I own:
My Tessera... Rome. Lead Tessera c. 1st cent. AD 13mm, 1.39 g, 12h Obv: Fortuna standing left, resting rudder on ground with right hand, holding cornucopia in left Rev: Large DP Ref: Rostovtsev 2307; Ruggerio 808-9 Ex: Tom Vossen collection of Roman lead objects. Ex: Gert Boersema
@Alegandron - Gert and I are working on publishing that collection. Your piece will be illustrated in it EDIT: This is a type that has been surprisingly available lately. All specimens exhibit the same misalignment, indicating that they were all cast from the same set of molds. Here's one of my two examples.
Wow, thank you for the information. I was drawn to it when it was offered. Would love to know what it was used for... but, I understand that is lost in time...
In the past, it has been thought that these were used for entrance tickets or in the grain distributions. That might still be possible, but I think there's a very strong argument to be made for a use as currency. Its infinitely frustrating to me that the few people who study these can look at the evidence, put together a good argument for currency use, and then dismiss it all and just fall back on the tired old tickets explanation, for which there's even less evidence.
In prior conversations, someone akin'd them to US Civil War Tokens as substitute currency. I grew up where folks would even us Postage Stamps as a substitute means to pay for things, like groceries, etc.
Are you suggesting it was an official currency or a currency similar to the fake money used at resorts today?
S&H Green Stamps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S&H_Green_Stamps When you grow up poor, those things were manna from heaven. Just as good as money.
Yes, I remember those well too. However, US Postage stamps were used as change in a lot of grocery stores (local) as they sold them too.
Ahahaha, you're pretty cocky ... but I guess you've earned it, eh Ardy? Ummm, I only have two of these cool Pb-examples ... I love both of 'em
One of my Grandsons LOVES Antman... Maybe your Ant Tessera was an admission token for a Roman Antman play... Sorry @Ardatirion , I just could not resist... I tend more to believe they were token currency vs. spending so much effort to mint a token for a one-off event.
I have a few tessera. Don't know enough about them to tell if they are fake or not. But I think they are cool! Lead Tessera (3.02 grams, 16.15/19.38 mm) Obv: Diana of Ephesos cultus statue. Star on either side Rev: Lilyflower PB tessera - square (13.9 mm, 2.51 g, 12 h) Obv: Pomegranate Rev: Wreath
More like a privately issued pseudo-currency. Something akin to the cent tokens of the American Civil War.