It was Marcus Aurelius who needed more money to finance the
continuation of his Marcomannic Wars. According to the Historia
Augusta:
"When he had drained the treasury for this war [the Marcomannic
War], moreover, and could not bring himself to impose any
extraordinary tax on the provincials, he held a public sale in the
Forum of [ ] Trajan of the imperial furnishings, and sold goblets
of gold and crystal and murra, even flagons made for kings, his
wife's silken gold-embroidered robes, and, indeed, even certain
jewels which he had found in considerable numbers in a particularly
holy cabinet of Hadrian's. This sale lasted for two months, and
such a store of gold was realised thereby, that after he had
conducted the remainder of the Marcomannic war in full accordance
with his plans, he gave the buyers to understand that if any of
them wished to return his purchases and recover his money, he could
do so. Nor did he make it unpleasant for anyone who did or did not
return what he had bought."
