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Message:: [QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 8279519, member: 110350"]I did some searches on ACSearch for ancient Egyptian tesserae and tokens, not so much to try to find an exact match, but more to see if I could find anything that was at all similar in appearance and/or style. This example, offered by London Ancient Coins in 2017, was the closest, depicting Isis on one side and Nilus reclining on the other: <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3638091" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3638091" rel="nofollow">https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3638091</a> [ATTACH=full]1462118[/ATTACH] The description: Egypt, Roman Æ Tessera, c. 2nd-3rd century AD (13mm, 2.53g, 12h). Bust of Isis r.; to l., crescent over torch; to r., star over arm. R/ Nilus reclining l., holding reed and cornucopia. It seems to have gone unsold, with a starting price of 100 GBP. It's a bit smaller than mine (13 mm. vs. 15.6 mm.), but the weight is almost identical (2.53 g. vs. 2.52 g.). Like mine, it's described as AE rather than lead -- something true of only a tiny minority of the several hundred Egyptian tesserae on ACSearch. And, like mine, it's almost circular with a raised border, and seems to be more finely engraved than most of the lead tesserae. It's by far the closest to mine of anything I looked at. For a rejection of the term "tessera," see this Phd thesis for the University of Warwick, entitled Wilding, Denise (2020) Tokens and communities in the Roman provinces: an exploration of Egypt, Gaul and Britain.  It's available online at <a href="http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/160242/1/WRAP_Theses_Wilding_2020_Redacted.pdf" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/160242/1/WRAP_Theses_Wilding_2020_Redacted.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/160242/1/WRAP_Theses_Wilding_2020_Redacted.pdf</a> -- unfortunately, with all the illustrations removed, so it's not terribly useful in that respect. Still, this is what the author says at p. 39 in explaining why she uses the term "token" rather than "tessera" (footnotes omitted): "The term tessera (from the Greek τεσσαρες, meaning ‘four’) may have been used to refer to tokens in the Roman period, as well as the terms missilia and nomismata. There are accounts of emperors throwing, or distributing, such items to the crowd who could then exchange them for prizes or their allotment of grain.81 Missilia refers to something that is thrown, while nomismata implies that the distributed item is monetiform.82 Other sources describe little wooden balls that are distributed.83 Tessera is the term that has been applied to tokens most frequently in recent scholarship, but the problem with the term is that its inherent meaning implies that it should refer to objects that are quadrangular." Hence, she uses the term "token" to refer to the round objects, most often made of lead, that are the subject of her thesis. This is the author's introduction to the section on Roman Egypt, beginning at p. 58: "Chapter 2: Tokens in Roman EgyptThis chapter focuses on the lead tokens of Roman Egypt and aims to assess the sites on which they are found, their imagery and legends, and how they functioned. In Egypt the Roman era can be defined as the period from which Octavian annexed the province in 30 BC, to the reign of Diocletian in c.AD 300.1 The term ‘Roman Egypt’ is used in this thesis to define the period of the tokens relevance, as they were manufactured and in use after the Roman conquest. However, the tokens of the Roman period depict iconography that is influenced by classical imagery, due not only to the Roman presence, but also to the preceding Greek rule. The term ‘Graeco-Roman’ therefore perhaps better defines the social context of these tokens, and is used when discussing imagery or deities from the classical milieu. Tokens from Roman Egypt are primarily made from lead and comprise a highlydiverse range of types. There are both local series and series that are widespread across the province. The local series include those of Athena-Thoeris at  Oxyrhynchus, the tokens from Abydos with iconography that includes an Egyptian Mongooge, Athena and a male bust, and those from Saqqara that depict the Apis bull and are inscribed with the legend ΜΕΜΦΙC. Token types that are widespread across the province include Nilus types and Serapis types, which are found at most sites discussed in this thesis, with some of these types from the same series. Their purpose is not always clear, and they are largely ignored in current literature. This chapter will discuss the different archaeological contexts in which tokens arefound in Egypt, combined with consideration of the types of token discovered at each site. The iconography and legends of tokens will be explored through case studies that contrast the local nature of the imagery found on the Athena-Thoeris tokens at Οxyrhynchus with that of the imagery of Nilus, which is found on multiple sites throughout the province. The possibilities for their function will then be considered, through an assessment of their dating, imagery and findspots." There's one reference at p. 83 to a token depicting Isis-Thermouthis, unfortunately with the image deleted like all the others: Figure 25: Token depicting Isis as Isis-Thermouthis. Obverse: Jugate busts of Isis and Osiris, right. Border of dots. Reverse: Isis Thermouthis right, torch to left and right; crescent in field to top left, star in field to top right. Border of dots. Metal: Lead. Diameter: 16mm. Weight: 3.85g. Die axis: 12. Egypt no. 174. ANS accession no. 1935.117.1114. Image: ANS. Perhaps it's available somewhere on the ANS website.[/QUOTE]

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