How did people invest their money in Rome or ancient Greece?

Perth(Australia), Jan 3 (The Conversation) In Antiquity, there were no stock exchanges or complex financial products, but a true culture of investment already existed. Whether it was land, goods, or works of art, the Greeks and Romans, like today, sought to secure and grow their wealth despite economic and political risks.

"All I want is an income of 20,000 sesterces from safe investments," proclaims a character in a poem by Juvenal (1st-2nd century AD), the Roman poet.

Today, 20,000 sesterces would be equivalent to approximately €170,000 in investment interest. Anyone would be very happy to have such a passive annual income.

Like today, people in ancient times understood that investing money could help them consolidate and increase their wealth.

As the Roman writer Petronius (1st century AD) once wrote , "He who has money sails with a favorable wind and governs his fortune as he sees fit. ( Quisquis habet nummos, secura naviget aura fortunamque suo temperet arbitrio." So, in practical terms, how did the Ancients invest their money? A lavish house with hidden cash reserves -------------------------------------------- In ancient Greece and Rome, there was no stock market for buying and trading shares of a company. If one wanted to invest their cash, one of the most common options was to acquire gold or silver.

This was done to protect against currency fluctuations and inflation. Metals were generally stored either as ingots or as objects, such as jewelry. Storing these goods could be risky and made them vulnerable to theft.

The Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BC) describes the estate of a wealthy landowner, which included "a high dwelling, where talents of chased silver are deeply buried," alongside "heaps of worked and unworked gold." A talent was the largest unit of monetary measurement in ancient Greece and Rome, and was equivalent to approximately 25 kg of silver.

Generally, metals were kept in a special chest. The Roman writer Cicero (106-43 BC), for example, describes how a wealthy woman named Clodia would take gold (perhaps in the form of bars, ingots, or plates) from her treasury when she wished to lend money to someone. This gold could then be exchanged for currency.

Market booms – and busts ---------------------------- The price of these metals could, however, occasionally be subject to unpredictable fluctuations and sudden drops, although this happened less often than for currency.

The Greek historian Polybius (c. 200–118 BCE) explains that the discovery of a new gold vein in Aquileia , Italy, at a depth of only two feet, triggered a gold rush. This new material flooded the market too quickly, and “the price of gold throughout Italy immediately fell by a third” within just two months. To stabilize the price of gold, mining in the region was quickly monopolized and regulated.

When people wanted to trade precious metals, they sold them by weight. If the gold, silver, or bronze had been made into jewelry or other objects, these could be melted down and converted into ingots.

People seemed to derive genuine pleasure from possessing these precious metals. The Athenian writer Xenophon (c. 430–350 BCE) provides a clue to the mindset of ancient investors in silver: "When you have acquired the necessary equipment for a household, you don't buy anything more; but money, nobody ever has enough not to want more: to such an extent that those who have a lot find as much pleasure in burying their excess as in using it." A number of Roman wills also reveal that individuals bequeathed silver and gold to their heirs in the form of bars, plates or ingots.

Goods that could not be "ruined by Jupiter" --------------------------------------------- Besides metals, agricultural products were also highly valued, particularly cereals, olive oil, and wine. To profit from agricultural goods, land was purchased and these products were traded on the market.

The Roman statesman Cato believed that investing money in the production of goods was the safest option. According to Plutarch, he asserted that these assets "could not be ruined by Jupiter"—in other words, that they withstood the unpredictable fluctuations of the economy. While precious metals constituted a store of wealth, they generated no income until they were sold. In contrast, a diversified portfolio of agricultural commodities guaranteed a steady income.

They also invested in and traded precious goods, such as works of art. When the Romans sacked the city of Corinth in 146 BC, they stole its famous collection of works of art, and then later sold these masterpieces at auction for considerable sums in order to provide profits for the Roman state.

At this sale, the king of Pergamon, Attalus II (220-138 BC), bought one of the paintings, made by the master Aristeides of Thebes (4th century BC), for the incredible sum of 100 talents (about 2,500 kg of silver).

Eccentric emperors --------------------- Political instability or uncertainty sometimes caused metal prices to rise. The Greek historian Appian (2nd century AD) reports that, during the Roman civil war of 32-30 BC: "The price of all goods had increased, and the Romans attributed the cause to the quarrels of the chiefs, whom they cursed." Eccentric emperors could also impose new taxes or duties on goods, or attempt to manipulate the market.

The Roman historian Suetonius (c. 69-122 AD) tells us that the emperor Caligula (12-41 AD) "instituted new and unprecedented taxes [...] and there was no category of goods or men on which he did not impose some form of tax." Another emperor, Vespasian (17-79 AD), went so far as to "buy certain goods solely in order to redistribute them profitably," wrote Suetonius.

Clearly, investing wisely 2,000 years ago could build personal wealth — but it also carried risks, just as it does today. (The Conversation) RD RD