The team has worked on token collections across the world. Types and specimens are published online (
https://coins.warwick.ac.uk/token-types/(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)) and in print (listed under publications). The tokens of the British Museum are now online (e.g.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?keyword=bmcrlt(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) for the lead), as are the tokens of the BnF (
https://antiquitebnf.hypotheses.org/11049(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)). The findings below have been disseminated through various presentations and publications.
We have identified the characteristics of tokens in different regions, and proposed potential uses. Tokens are found across the Mediterranean, but methods of manufacture, materials, and use differed according to area. The tokens of Britain, Gaul and Egypt were examined by Wilding in her PhD thesis. She gathered together possible tokens from Britain for the first time, noting that the area is relatively poor in tokens. This may be due to the fact that tokens seem to be connected to euergetism, not as widely practiced along the Roman frontier (tokens are also relatively infrequent in Germany). In Roman Gaul, tokens have been found on cultic sites, and a series appears regional in character. One of the largest assemblages from Gaul are the tokens coming from the river Saône in Lyon, which may have had a commercial use, although a connection to cult or euergetism cannot be ruled out. In Egypt tokens are emblematic of both regional and local identities in the region. Milne's suggestion that these pieces acted as emergency currency has been brought into serious doubt by Wilding's study; it is more likely they played a role in contexts of cult or euergetism.
The PI's work on the tokens of Rome, Ostia and Italy has concluded that these pieces were used to facilitate acts of euergetism within different contexts: during festivals, within collegia, Roman bathing, etc. The lead tokens of Rome and Ostia were produced from palombino marble moulds, a technique that appears unique to this region. Bronze and orichalcum (brass) tokens are also known (likely produced for private individuals by a specialised workshop), and it is evident that the same groups were producing both types of tokens, a connection not previously noticed before. New die connections between the brass tokens have been uncovered, furthering our understanding of the so-called 'spintriae'. The designs of tokens in this region are extremely varied and in many instances form unique pieces of iconography. An interesting phenomenon is that the imagery on tokens often invites the user to identify themselves in the image (e.g. by portraying a worshipper or bather). A monograph, Tokens and Social Life in Roman Italy, has been submitted to CUP.
Crisà's work on the tokens of Sicily has demonstrated that they are relatively rare, mainly made from terracotta, and appear to date to the classical/Hellenistic period. They carry images that reference deities and local coinage, and in one case was repurposed to function as 'Charon's obol' within a tomb. This work has been published in a series of articles.
Gkikaki's work on the tokens of Athens has resulted in the publication of new specimens, and provided a reassessment of particular archaeological assemblages. While the use of tokens in the classical democracy has been established, Gkikaki's work suggests that tokens came to take on new contexts from the Hellenistic period, becoming associated with cults, prestige and acts of euergetism.
The research of the project, as well as the connections of ancient tokens with others across time, has been disseminated via the project conference (and resulting publication 'Tokens: Culture, Connections, Communities' with the RNS) and the workshop in Rome, Italy ('Tokens, Value and Identity').
