Token to lupanar
Sexual services were normally paid between 2 and 10 asses. Occasionally, special coins (spintria) were issued which, according to scientists, were in the form of our present-day tokens. They gave entry and the possibility of using the services. More coins of this type.
The Spintria was an obscene Roman tessera from the early empire, most likely related to prostitution in brothels (most scientists say). According to Suetonius, during the reign of Tiberius entering the lupanar with a coin or ring showing the ruler was a form of treason (maiestas). During the reign of Caracalla, an equine was sentenced to death for bringing a coin with the image of the emperor to the brothel; the accused was only saved because the ruler himself was murdered. We do not have any official proof that spintrae are a form of tokens in exchange for services and substitutes for money. For example, the numismatist Theodore V. Buttrey claims that they were used as gambling chips. Spintriae was produced only for a short time, probably in the 1st century CE.
