Sale: CNG 72, Lot: 1441. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 14 June 2006.  Sold For $1100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Anonymous Tesserae. 1st-2nd centuries AD. Bone Tessera (31mm, 5.20 g, 12h). Made in Alexandria. VF, Bare headed bust right / XIII/DIONUTAC/IG in three lines across fields. Cf. Kestner-Museum, Tesseren 150. VF, amber toning.

From the Marc Poncin Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 69 (8 June 2005), lot 2238.

A wide variety of these tessarae are known, many found in the vicinity of Alexandria. They feature portraits (some resembling emperors from Augustus to Nero), Egyptian architectural types and other symbols, with names inscribed on the reverse accompanied by numbers from 1 to 15 in Latin and Greek. They may have been used to regulate the distribution of government largess or as theater tickets.