[...] "Money boxes: (ἀργυροθήκη/argyrothḗkē; Latin arcula, crumena). It seems that MB were unknown in archaic and classical Greece; money was kept in trunks and chests together with jewellery and other objects of value (e.g. Theophr. Char. 10). Probably the oldest surviving MB is from Priene (2nd/1st cent. BC) and has the form of a little temple with a slit in the pediment for inserting money, which can be taken out again through a lockable opening at the rear [1. 190 f. no. 25]. The Romans used small pots for keeping money (olla or aula, Cic. Fam. 9,18,4, cf. also Plautus's comedy Aulularia)". [...] Lohmann, Hans (Bochum), Money boxes.
