I don't think it's any sort of "brothel token". Spintriae ("brothel tokens") are round and have a Roman numeral on the reverse. While the figures here appear to be nude, the scene is not explicitly erotic. The bearded male seated with a club(?) appears to be Hercules / Herakles. The female figure is more generic- his wife Megara?
The actual spintriae as linked above may or may not be brothel tokens. They could just as easily be game tokens, counters or theater tickets. No one knows. The Romans and Greeks were not bashful and erotic imagery is common. For many years, some maintained that they were not even ancient but if I remember correctly, a die match of one of the numeral reverses to a known ancient token proved they are indeed ancient, 1st century or thereabouts.
The op is interesting, nicely done up in a (modern?) gold mount. I would like to think the centerpiece is ancient but authenticating antiquities is even more difficult than coins because most are unique.
Edited by Kushanshah
06/07/2022 03:18 am