Before Wall Street, There Was Rome: Lessons From the First Gold Investors

Long before stock exchanges, trading apps and market commentators, investors were already debating the safest way to grow their wealth. They just happened to be wearing togas.

“All I want is an income of 20,000 sesterces from secure investments,”

wrote the Roman poet Juvenal nearly 2,000 years ago. In today’s terms, that would translate to roughly R5.6 million a year in passive income—not bad for a financial goal expressed nearly two millennia ago.

It turns out the ancients understood many of the same investment principles modern South Africans grapple with today: inflation protection, diversification, long-term value and the appeal of tangible assets.

With no stock market to speak of, ancient Greek and Roman investors turned to what they trusted most: gold and silver. Precious metals were purchased as bars, coins, plates and jewellery, and stored carefully in household vaults. The Roman poet Virgil described elite homes containing “talents of silver… deeply hidden” alongside significant stores of gold bullion.

“A lot of today’s investment conversations feel very modern, but the fundamentals haven’t changed,”

says Rael Demby, CEO of The South African Gold Coin Exchange & The Scoin Shop.

“Across centuries and civilisations, people have consistently turned to precious metals when they want to preserve value, protect against uncertainty and take a longer-term view of wealth.”

Even then, markets were not immune to volatility. The historian Polybius recorded how the discovery of a new gold vein in Italy once caused the gold price to collapse by a third in just two months after supply flooded the market—prompting authorities to intervene to stabilise prices.

Sound familiar?

Ancient investors also understood diversification. While gold and silver preserved wealth, they did not generate income unless sold. Wealthier Romans, therefore, invested in farmland, agricultural production and commodities such as grain, olive oil and wine. Roman statesman Cato famously described these assets as being so essential that they “could not be ruined by Jupiter”—meaning they were resilient even in turbulent times.

High-end collectables were another alternative investment. After the Roman sack of Corinth in 146 BC, priceless artworks were auctioned for extraordinary sums. One painting reportedly sold for the equivalent of 2,500 kilograms of silver—a fortune worth around R40 million today.

“Whether it’s farmland, fine art or bullion, the principle is the same. Real assets with intrinsic value tend to endure. That’s as true for South African investors in 2026 as it was for Roman citizens in 30 BC.”

adds Demby. 

Of course, ancient investors also faced familiar frustrations: political instability, erratic leadership and sudden tax changes. Emperor Caligula was notorious for imposing new taxes on almost everything imaginable, while Emperor Vespasian reportedly manipulated markets by buying up goods and reselling them at a profit.

Two thousand years later, the characters have changed—but the investment anxieties have not.

The takeaway?

Long before Wall Street existed, investors already understood the enduring appeal of tangible value, disciplined thinking and long-term strategy.

Or as history quietly suggests: gold may not be new, but its relevance certainly isn’t ancient.