[MUSIC PLAYING]
RICK: Hey, how's it going? - Pretty good.
How are you? - All right.
What can I help you with?
I brought something that I think would be
pretty popular here in Vegas.
It is a Roman erotic tessera.
It's a brothel token from ancient Rome.
I don't know why you would say we need this in Vegas.
[LAUGHTER]
KENT: I'm here today to sell my ancient Roman brothel token.
I buy and sell coins, and I come across odd things like this.
And I bought it because I thought it
was a good value to resell it.
Brothel tokens aren't something that I collect.
[LAUGHS]
This is, you know, right around 1 AD.
About the time of Christ, Tiberius, Augustus,
right about in there.
Most people really don't think of Rome the way it really was.
It was a really highly advanced society.
Literally, 2,000 years ago, they had sewer systems that weren't
matched until the 20th century.
And they actually had brothels.
And the very large ones would have brothel coins.
It was basically the way the system was.
The brothels had bars, all this other stuff.
They had girls that worked upstairs.
And if you wanted to go see one of the girls upstairs,
you would literally go to the counter,
and you would pay your money.
And when he went upstairs to see his girl,
he would go to booth 5.
KENT: Right.
And that way, the girl would take the money.
And then they knew that there would be no accounting issues.
It was a way to make sure that the girls didn't steal
the money from management.
So where did you get it?
Well, I've been dealing in foreign ancient coins
most of my life.
And it's what I do for a living.
And I bought it off another dealer,
who acquired it in Europe.
Did he have any background on it?
KENT: No.
But the depictions on it match up very closely
to the frescoes that are on the walls
of the brothel in Pompeii.
OK.
How much do you want for this?
I'd like to get around 10 grand for it.
OK.
I don't know exactly how many of these that have been copied.
I'm sure they do copy them.
Let me call in a guy who would be an expert on this--
expert on ancient coins, not brothels.
Or maybe both, I don't know.
[LAUGHS]
And I'm going to get his opinion on this, all right?
- Sure. - Give me a few minutes.
I'm going to go make a phone call.
OK.
Note to wife-- never had to use one of these, never
been in one of those places.
I just read history books.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, Rick.
Dave, how's it going?
Good.
So I explained to this person you're an expert on brothels--
[LAUGHS]
--and would know all about this.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Oh my Lord.
RICK: Yes.
Not suitable for children.
I think it's a brothel coin.
He says it's a brothel coin.
Well, it-- it's certainly one explanation that
these were used in brothels.
During the reign of Tiberius, it was
illegal to use coins with an emperor's portrait on them
while paying in a brothel.
RICK: OK.
DAVID: So, you know, it would be something you could use--
In a brothel.
--in a brothel.
Yeah, the depiction on the front of it
is kind of self-explanatory.
DAVID: No inscription required.
May I take a closer look at it?
KENT: Yeah, go for it.
It's actually a very interesting series.
On the front, you have an erotic scene of some kind.
Well, it's not some kind.
It's pretty explanatory what it is, yeah.
It's-- it's one of several.
There are at least a dozen scenes that are recorded.
OK.
And on the reverse, there's a letter in Roman numerals.
And I believe they go through 1 through 16.
RICK: OK.
So.
Is it real?
A lot of counterfeits were made.
But I took a good look.
I think this is absolutely genuine.
This is a good piece.
OK, so what do these things go for?
If it were lesser condition, sometimes you can
be looking at $1,500 or $2,000.
If they're the most magnificent ones in existence,
you can be looking at $25,000, $30,000.
This one's at the higher end of in between.
I think it's at least a $12,000 item.
Thanks, man.
I appreciate it.
No problem.
All right, congratulations.
Thank you.
I'll tell you what, I'll give you 7 grand for it.
I'd still like to get 10 grand for it.
I mean, what's your best price on it?
Will you do 9 on it?
I'll go 8 grand.
We have to admit it's a little odd
and it's a little not exactly PC.
Sure.
Sure, I get it.
8 grand's fine, man.
All right, sweet.
I'll meet you right over there, and we'll do some paperwork.
OK, sounds good.
KENT: I'm happy with the deal.
I got more than what I paid for it.
And I've got enough money to go buy
a new toy for my collection.