Money and politics have always gone hand-in-hand, or perhaps you scratch my back and I’ll pay you back. Things were no different in the first century. These were troubling, unstable times. There were culture wars between Hellenism and early Roman traditions accompanied by violent revolutions, like the Jewish Revolt that led to the destruction of the Temple.

People tried to safeguard their savings by converting them into coins so that when a new king or Caesar took over they would retain their value, at the very least the metal value of the coins.

Until this day Israelis still bury cash under the “balatot” or floor tiles where they hope no one will find it (including the local tax collectors!). In those days of turmoil, it often happened that the owner of the buried treasure perished in a war, was exiled, or taken into slavery, and all knowledge of the treasure was lost. Until, of course, someone happened to dig up the field and ‘Oh my’ the cache was discovered by the lucky farmer or repairman.

Perhaps the...