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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 2650293, member: 83956&quot;]So I just bought this Diocletian SACRA MONETA coin last night (seller’s pic):</p><p><br /></p><p>Obverse: IMP DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG, His laureate head right.</p><p>Reverse: SACRA MONET AVGG ET CAESS NOSTR, Moneta standing left holding cornucopia and scales. Upward crescent and A on either side, SIS in exergue.</p><p>Reference: RIC 134a, page 469, vol. VII.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]586214[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>While I await its arrival I’d like to learn more about the SACRA MONETA concept. In what sense was Roman money “holy”?</p><p><br /></p><p>I am aware of the tradition that the early Roman mint stood adjacent to the Temple of Juno Moneta (“Juno the Warner”), and that such an association provides the ultimate source of our word “money.” But by the time of Diocletian, the “sacra” seems to modify <i>moneta</i>—apparently rendering the money itself sacred.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can see how money might be related to a host of ethical concerns or prayerful hopes--fair-dealing, honesty, abundance, prosperity--indeed, these concerns are implied in reverse depictions of Moneta (?) holding scales and a cornucopia. But the phrase “sacred money” elevates money to a kind of divine status that strikes me as odd, even for the Romans.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would be grateful for any thoughts on how money could be deemed “holy” in the Roman mind. Or am I misreading this concept? And feel free to post any depictions of Moneta. Was she a proper goddess actively worshiped, or more of a symbolic representation of an idea, sort of like the winged victory on coins minted well into the Christian period?</p><p><br /></p><p>OK. I’ve already asked too many questions. Somebody educate me.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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