Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1189IR // #c1189Synthesis

"Inscribed on a wild boar-shaped ivory card were the words ‘I am Puinel from Carthage’, in the Etruscan language." "A merchant in Carthage or an Etruscan city would send one half of the card with an associate who travelled to different ports and negotiated deals."

— In our words · Source: Carthage: A New History (Eve MacDonald)

[Use when]

You need a stranger in another port to trust your agent or your shipment.

[Why it matters]

The token was found in a tomb at Carthage, written in the trading partner's language. MacDonald reconstructs how such guest cards worked: the agent carried one half, and the matching half travelled with the goods as the guarantee. Its owner was buried with it.

Filed under situations:When the other side has more leverage

More from Carthage: A New History

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