Custom printed pens and pencils are nothing new. While we are proud of the personalized pens and pencils we print here, it appears that recently a 2000 year old stylus was discovered in London and it was inscribed with a joke! A custom printed pen!
The stylus dates back to 70 A.D. and it reads: “I have come from the City. I bring you a welcome gift with a sharp point that you may remember me. I ask, if fortune allowed, that I might be able (to give) as generously as the way is long (and) as my purse is empty.”
In other words: I’m broke, but here’s a pen.
The city described is most likely Rome.
The Museum of London explains it more in their blog here.