Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;brassnautilus, post: 2151696, member: 74300&quot;]I heard of that same thing Bing, but I don&#039;t think it was common. For the most part there were banker equivalents, whether a wealthy elite or mafia organization, there were money lenders, and most of them held deposits. </p><p><br /></p><p>Military units were bankers, and soldiers could draw or even loan from their unit.</p><p>At end of the republic a regular soldier received around 250 denarius per year ($5,000) over 3 payments. Part of that was set aside towards their retirement funds. The more responsible examples could deposit his extra cash in the unit bank. For majority of them, you could imagine how fast $1,000 bucks could disappear over the course of 4 month, especially if they weren&#039;t always thinking about growing old.</p><p><br /></p><p>We often hear that spoils were big part of their income. Unlike regular pays, those were generally issued as one-time cash rewards. I don&#039;t think they were that much though, maybe 100 denarius per soldier for the most lucrative wars. 10,000 men each receiving 100 would be 1 million denarius, astronomical numbers in ancient times. </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m sure some soldiers had buried their money but for the most part, these buried hoards must had been families, businesses, and even financial institutions. People migrate because of war and famine. Money is dangerous goods to be hauling around. </p><p><br /></p><p>Also &quot;buried&quot; is an ambiguous term. It&#039;s now buried does not always mean it was purposely put underground.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in