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Rolling in Cash: The Most Expensive Dice in History

Dice have been part of our culture for thousands of years, and most archaeological digs have produced dice in all shapes and forms, made from a variety of materials.  The purpose of dice hasn’t changed much over time, providing entertainment to players through games and betting pastimes.

But what was the most expensive die ever sold?  According to records, an archaeologist in 1920’s, stumbled upon a Roman die made from glass, dating back from the 2nd Century CE (see picture).  The die was inherited by the man’s son, a professor of fine arts from the United States and the son finally decided that the cash he could get from this amazing object was worth selling it.  As such, Christie’s auction featured the die in their catalog and it was snapped up for the record price of $18,000 in 2003.

The die itself is phenomenal, with each side engraved with a different symbol in ancient lettering. The object has kept its bluish green color and it comes as no surprise that it fetched such a huge amount of money.  Strangely, historians haven’t yet determined which game the dice were used for and it’s anyone’s guess who the original owners were.

But not all expensive dice need to be thousands of years old.  Crystal Caste, for example, is a company which specializes in creating objects from precious materials.  This group makes a 20 sided die made from meteorite, appropriately named Meteorite Dwarven Stone with a price tag of a few hundred dollars.  True, these aren’t worth as much as the Roman die found in Egypt, but at least they can be ordered online and make a fantastic gambling gift for that special someone.

Check out, too, the dice made by the Japanese company, Iriso Seimutsu which are tiny works of art measuring just 0.3 mm with 0.05 mm pips! The dice are made of brass and each one takes nine hours to create.

Obviously, you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of dice, and you can pick up a plastic pair for under a dollar if you really want.  The idea is to have fun with the objects and enjoy a wide range of games, whether board games or casino games.

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