TESSERZ CONSULARES. 435 
- Dr. Schmitz’s interpretation of the passage in Pliny’s Natural 
History seems to me very doubtful. The words are—“< Miscuit 
denario triumvir Antonius ferrum.  Miscentur era false monete. 
Alii e pondere subtrahunt, quum sié justum lvxxtv e libris signari. - 
Igitur ars facta denarios probare, tam jucunda lege plebi, ut Mario 
Gratidiano vicatim totas statuas dicaverit. Ars facta denarios pro- 
bare do not appear to me to signify—‘‘a means of testing money 
and of distinguishing the good from the bad denarii was dis- 
covered,” for that cannot have been done lege, “by a law ;” but ra- 
ther “the testing of denarii was made an art, became a recognised 
occupation,’ i.e. the law of Gratidianus provided for the appoint- 
ment: or recognition of a certain class, whose business it was to dis- 
tinguish good and base denarii. It seems probable that this law also — 
had enactments relative to ascertaining the competency of those 
persons, who were to practise this art, and as to distinguishing them 
when approved. Thus the origin of spectatores may, perhaps, be 
traced to this law; and it is not unworthy of remark, that the oldest 
tessera of the whole series is of the date, 85 B.C. 
It seems not improbable then that these tessere were carried, or, 
it may be, hung round the neck, by those who acted as spectatores, 
as badges indicative of their occupation, and that the inscription 
showed that they were authorized to act as such, having been ap- 
proved on the stated days, or in the stated months. Thus the fre- 
quency of the occurrence of the Calends, Nones, and Ides seems to 
be satisfactorily accounted for; for these were, as is well known, 
the settling* days, the principal times for money transactions. But 
a question presents itself—which may also be asked if we accept the 
old reading spectatus with reference to gladiators—why the days are 
stated on those ¢essercee, which were found at or uear the city, whilst 
the three examples of the month alone are on those found in other 
places, viz., Parma, Modena, and Arles? Mommsen is of opinion that 
perhaps we should take in these instances the month as used for the 
Calends of the month—“‘fortasse intelligende sunt ipse kalende in 
éesseris his nescio quomodo precipue.” Another explanation of this 
distinction may be given by supposing that these badges or certificates 
were issued in Rome on any day of the month, on which they were 
applied for, especially the Calends, Nones, and Ides, being those on 
* Nemo iabonio molestus est neque Kalendis Decembribus neque Nonis neque Idibus, 
Cicero, Verr. ii. 1,57; Omnem redegit Idibus pecaniam, Querit Kalendis ponere. Horace, 
Epodes, ii. 69, on which see Orelli. 
