Tokens and Social Life in Roman Imperial Italy

A unique and accessible introduction to an underutilised source, Roman tokens, and their value for ancient social history.

Clare Rowan (Author)

9781316516539, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 November 2023

268 pages
25 x 17.5 x 2 cm, 0.62 kg

'… this book is a leap forward in the study of tokens and will be valuable not only for established scholars working on portable material culture, but also for postgraduate students and advanced undergraduates, especially those looking to engage with a wider range of Roman material culture.' Summer Courts, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Tokens are underutilised artefacts from the ancient world, but as everyday objects they were key in mediating human interactions. This book provides an accessible introduction to tokens from Roman Italy. It explores their role in the creation of imperial imagery, as well as what they can reveal about the numerous identities that existed in different communities within Rome and Ostia. It is clear that tokens carried imagery that was connected to the emotions and experiences of different festivals, and that they were designed to act upon their users to provoke particular reactions. Tokens bear many similarities to ancient Roman currency, but also possess important differences. The tokens of Roman Italy were objects used by a wide variety of groups for particular events or moments in time; their designs reveal experiences and individuals otherwise lost to history. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

1. Introduction
2. Tokens and the Imperial family
3. Creating identities in Rome, Ostia and Italy
4. Cult, euergetism and the imagery of festivals
5. Tokens, finds, and small-scale economies
6. Conclusion: Tokens and the history of Roman Imperial Italy.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]