Wallet
A purse (Latin crumina, also crumena) was a small pouch or container for coins and other small valuables. Leather finds document particular constructions, but their survival does not prove that every ancient purse was leather.
A textile pouch can be difficult to identify without a fastening, contents or context. Not every textile fragment is a purse, but all textile variants cannot be dismissed without reviewing the evidence.
The related sacculus was a small bag. Its name should not be replaced without explanation by saccus, a broader word for a sack.
Leather purse from Barger-Compascuum, the Netherlands; second–third century CE.
Modern reconstruction of the purse from Barger-Compascuum.Metal arm purses had a hollow chamber for coins and a hoop allowing them to be worn on the arm. Their construction differed from an ordinary leather pouch: size and opening mechanism should be studied on a particular object.
Many finds relate to Roman military settings, but proximity to a fort does not identify an owner's rank or name. A reconstruction should not extend the construction of one metal purse to every object called crumina.
Bronze arm-purse from Vindolanda. Ashmolean Museum; first–second century CE.
Bronze arm-purse found in northern Britain. Chesters Museum; second century CE.
Bronze arm-purse found in northern Britain. Chesters Museum; attributed to around 119–122 CE.Related topics
Literature and sources
- K. Schlabow. Der römische Münzschatz von Bargercompascuum. II. Der Geldbeutel. Palaeohistoria, 1956, p. 81, plate XII, figs. 17–21.
- Roman arm purse: Treasure Annual Report 2005/6, Tadcaster, 2005 T268.
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