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751 - ROMAN REPUBLIC. Tessera Lusoria. (7.18g). 2nd–1st century B.C. Published! 53 x 6 x 3.5 mm. Rod-shaped tessera made of bone. The handle is decorated with concentric circles and pierced on the sides. Inscriptions on both sides: INFELIX / IIII. Published in: Pedroni - Devoto, “Tessere da una collezione privata,” *Archeologia Classica* 47 (1995), p. 178ff. Figs. 5c–6c (this specimen!); cf. Hülsen, Miscellanea epigrafica, XXI. Tessere lusorie, MDAI 11 (1896), pp. 227–257; Baratta, “Un set di Tesserae Lusoriae da Corfinium,” Anuari de filologia. Antiqua et mediaevalia 8 (2018), pp. 134–147. RRR! Very well-preserved, intact specimen. Provenance: From a British private collection; in a Swiss private collection since 2000. Tesserae Lusoriae are rectangular bone sticks inscribed on both sides—on one side with a noun or adjective, on the other with numerals (I–XV, XXX, LX). The terms appearing on tesserae with low numbers are mostly of a jocular or derogatory nature—such as INFELIX (unhappy) on our specimen. Positive terms are paired with higher numbers (e.g., FELIX on a tessera bearing the number XXX). The tesserae lusoriae were likely used as part of a game, the exact rules of which, however, remain unknown to this day. + Standard-taxed goods / standard taxation.
ROMAN REPUBLIC. Tessera Lusoria. (7.18g). 2nd–1st century B.C. Published! 53 x 6 x 3.5 mm. Rod-shaped tessera made of bone. The handle is decorated with concentric circles and pierced on the sides. Inscriptions on both sides: INFELIX / IIII. Published in: Pedroni - Devoto, “Tessere da una collezione privata,” *Archeologia Classica* 47 (1995), p. 178ff. Figs. 5c–6c (this specimen!); cf. Hülsen, Miscellanea epigrafica, XXI. Tessere lusorie, MDAI 11 (1896), pp. 227–257; Baratta, “Un set di Tesserae Lusoriae da Corfinium,” Anuari de filologia. Antiqua et mediaevalia 8 (2018), pp. 134–147. RRR! Very well-preserved, intact specimen. Provenance: From a British private collection; in a Swiss private collection since 2000. Tesserae Lusoriae are rectangular bone sticks inscribed on both sides—on one side with a noun or adjective, on the other with numerals (I–XV, XXX, LX). The terms appearing on tesserae with low numbers are mostly of a jocular or derogatory nature—such as INFELIX (unhappy) on our specimen. Positive terms are paired with higher numbers (e.g., FELIX on a tessera bearing the number XXX). The tesserae lusoriae were likely used as part of a game, the exact rules of which, however, remain unknown to this day. + Standard-taxed goods / standard taxation.