Gold Roman Dice by Pete Barker

24 karat gold-plated lead-free pewter
0.25" x 0.25" x 0.25"

These dice are an exact reproduction of a of Roman Die dating back to 100A.D. They are cast in solid lead free pewter and plated in 24K gold and have been molded from Museum Quality Reproductions.

Dice are the oldest gambling instruments known to humankind. Sophocles, the Greek poet, claimed that dice were invented by the Greek, Palamedes, during the siege of Troy in 484 BC. Palamedes is said to have dedicated the first set of dice to Tyche, the Goddess of luck & fortune. Ivory dice from at least 1400B.C. were uncovered in Egypt. The six sided dice of today evolved from ankle bones, often called knuckle bones, of hoofed animals. Dice are still called “bones” thus playing with dice is still known as “rolling the bones”. The Romans called the six sided dice Tesserea. Roman soldiers would hide the dice in their mouths. Playing dice games while on duty was frowned upon even in 100B.C. Since 900 B.C., six sided dice opposite sides add up to 7. (1:6, 2:5, 3:4 )