So, Here Is Some First-Century British Porn

Hey there, ladies and gents. Allow me to pose a question to you all: Can you feel the love tonight? Well, how about you give this vintage sex token a gander? Recently discovered in the mud of the Thames, historians claim that the bronze token dates back to the first century and was used as currency in brothels. How did they come to that conclusion? I direct your attention to the two figures copulating on the face of the disk. That’s how they figured that out. So, congratulations! You have just started your day by reading about what could possibly be the world’s oldest British pornography!

Back in the first century A.D., London was a Roman outpost, and that immediately explains why there was an open exchange of dirty, dirty sex pictures. Because, as you might recall, Romans (and Greeks) were not shy about expressing their sexuality, no matter what that sexuality entailed. (Meet Priapus, Ancient Greek fertility god, protector of livestock, and recurring star of Roman erotic art. Giggity.) So, back in the first century, visiting brothels was not exactly taboo, and it even merited its own currency exchange. From NYT:

The bronze, which has been turned over to the Museum of London, dates to around the first century A.D., when London was a Roman outpost, and shows a couple in flagrante delicto. Historians say it is a token of a kind used in brothels across the Roman Empire; the bearer would exchange it for the sex act depicted.

Kind of like baseball cards … ? Like, “I’ve got a dirty sanchez and a three-hour 69 if you’ll give me your Rusty Venture.” “No way, man, no deal! … Throw in your rowdy yak kicker* and we’ll talk.” “Deal!”

*I made that up. I hope it’s not a real thing. It seems like it would be crazy.

(The New York Times via Jezebel)