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{{Short description|Place or organization holding wealth}}
{{Other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
[[File:Treasury Casino Brisbane.jpg|right|thumb|260px|The [[Treasury Building, Brisbane|Treasury Building]] of [[Brisbane]]]]

A '''treasury''' is either 
*A [[government department]] related to finance and [[taxation]], a [[Finance minister|finance ministry]]; in a business context, [[corporate treasury]].
*A place or location where [[treasure]], such as [[currency]] or precious items are kept. These can be  [[State ownership|state]] or royal property, [[church treasure]] or in [[private ownership]].

The head of a treasury is typically known as a [[treasurer]]. This position may not necessarily have the final control over the actions of the treasury, particularly if they are not an elected representative.

The adjective for a treasury is normally '''treasurial'''. The adjective "tresorial" can also be used, but this normally means pertaining to a ''treasurer''.

==History==
[[File:Treasury of Athens at Delphi.jpg|thumb|alt=A partially ruined marble building with a porch with 2 columns supporting a pediment and an open doorway beyond|The [[Athenian Treasury]] at [[Delphi]], built with the spoils of the [[Battle of Marathon]]]]

The earliest found artefacts made of silver and gold are from Lake Varna in Bulgaria dated 4250–4000 BC,<ref>S La Niece – [https://books.google.com/books?id=oAfITjcHiZ0C&q=Gold Gold] Harvard University Press, 15 Dec 2009 Retrieved 2012-04-10 {{ISBN|0674035909}}</ref><ref>T Mohide – [https://books.google.com/books?id=XZ6Vs_vpJCIC&pg=PA3 The International Silver Trade] Woodhead Publishing, 28 Jul 1992 Retrieved 2012-07-05 {{ISBN|1855730677}}</ref> the earliest of copper are dated 9000–7000 BC.<ref>I McNeil – [https://books.google.com/books?id=WW4Q-vMA6IMC&pg=PA70 An Encyclopaedia of the History of Technology] Taylor & Francis, 2 Feb 1990 Retrieved 2012-07-05 {{ISBN|0415013062}}</ref>

{{quote|...And there was also silver weighing many thousands of talents and all the royal treasure amounting to a very great sum...| [[Procopius of Caesarea]]<ref>L Fargo Brown, G Barr Carson – [https://books.google.com/books?id=YEEv-xBhcPsC&pg=PA67 Men and Centuries of European Civilization] Ayer Publishing, 1971 Retrieved 2012-04-10 {{ISBN|0836921003}}</ref>}}

The Greek term ''thêsauros'' (treasury) was first used in [[Classical antiquity|Classical]] times to describe the votive buildings erected to house [[Sacrifice|gifts to the gods]], such as the [[Siphnian Treasury]] in [[Delphi]] or many similar buildings erected in [[Olympia, Greece]] by competing city-states to impress others during the [[ancient Olympic Games]].  In [[Ancient Greece]] treasuries were almost always physically incorporated within religious buildings such as temples, thus making state funds sacrosanct and adding moral constraints to the penal ones to those who would have access to these funds.

The sovereigns' treasury within the palace in ancient Jerusalem is considered to be similar in nature to the temple treasury.<ref>M Haran – [https://books.google.com/books?id=iHsee69P6KgC&pg=PA284 Temples and Temple-service in Ancient Israel̈: An Inquiry Into Biblical Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School] Eisenbrauns, 1977 Retrieved 2012-07-03 {{ISBN|0931464188}}</ref> The temple treasury of the settlement had appointed officials and functioned akin to a bank.<ref>T Wardle – [https://books.google.com/books?id=iY5_yJsa8bsC&pg=PA26 The Jerusalem Temple and Early Christian Identity] Mohr Siebeck, 22 Nov 2010 Retrieved 2012-07-04 {{ISBN|3161505689}}</ref>

{{quote|... in fact, practically in every city there are banking places for the holy money ...|[[Philo]]<ref>M E Stevens – [https://books.google.com/books?id=YOzV8VMCAt0C&dq=Mesopotamian+temple+treasury&pg=PA109 Temples, Tithes, and Taxes: The Temple and the Economic Life of Ancient Israel] Baker Academic, 1 Nov 2006 Retrieved 2012-07-04 {{ISBN|0801047773}}</ref>}}

In excavations of [[Persepolis]], a text containing information pertaining to the activities of a [[Persepolis Administrative Archives|temple treasury]] were discovered dated to the fifth century BC. The texts written in the Elamite language name the treasurer as ''[[Wikt:ganzabara|ganzabara]]'' <ref>[[Hugh G. M. Williamson]] – [https://books.google.com/books?id=NJKkUxXKJj8C&pg=PA215 Studies In Persian Period History and Historiography] Mohr Siebeck, 2004 Retrieved 2012-07-04 {{ISBN|3161482611}}</ref><ref>J Boardman – [https://books.google.com/books?id=nNDpPqeDjo0C&pg=PA84 The Cambridge Ancient History: Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean c. 525 to 479 B.C.] Cambridge University Press, 24 Nov 1988 Retrieved 2012-07-04 {{ISBN|0521228042}}</ref><ref>D T Potts- [https://books.google.com/books?id=mc4cfzkRVj4C&pg=PA320 The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State] Cambridge University Press, 29 Jul 1999 Retrieved 2012-07-04 ISBN
0521564964</ref>

The ancient Roman word ''[[aerarium]]'' signified the treasury of the Senate; ''[[fiscus]]'' indicated the imperial treasury used by the [[Roman emperor|emperor]].<ref>L Adkins, R A Adkins – [https://books.google.com/books?id=9JJdqJ8YGH8C&pg=PA45 Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome] Oxford University Press, 16 Jul 1998 Retrieved 2012-07-04 {{ISBN|0195123328}}</ref>
<ref>Sir William Smith – [https://books.google.com/books?id=QlQJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA24 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities] C.C. Little and J. Brown, 1853 Retrieved 2012-07-04</ref>

==Treasuries as government departments==

===Treasury===
In the [[United Kingdom]], [[His Majesty's Treasury]] is overseen by the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]].  The traditional honorary title of [[First Lord of the Treasury]] is held by the [[prime minister]].  [[His Majesty's Revenue and Customs]] administers the [[taxation]] system.

In the [[United States]], the [[Treasurer of the United States|Treasurer]] reports to an executive-appointed [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]]. The [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] is the revenue agency of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Department of the Treasury]].

===Ministry of finance===
In many other countries, the treasury is called the "[[ministry of finance]]" and the head is known as the finance minister. Examples include [[the Bahamas]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Belgium]], [[Spain]], [[Italy]], [[New Zealand]], Ghana, [[Canada]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[India]], [[Japan]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Zimbabwe]].

===Both===
In some other countries, a "Treasury" will exist alongside a separate "Ministry of Finance", with divided functions.

The State Treasury ({{langx|pl|Skarb Państwa}}) in [[law of Poland|Polish law]] represents the [[Poland|Polish state]] acting in the field of civil law relations in which it is treated as equal partner to private entities (as opposed to the sphere of public law relations in which the State represented by public authorities decides unilaterally on the legal situation of individuals). It can be represented by various officials or institutions depending on circumstances and has its own ministry, the [[Ministry of State Treasury (Poland)|Ministry of State Treasury]]. Historically, it was created in the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]] in 1590, when the public treasury (or&nbsp;the&nbsp;Crown Treasury) was split from the Royal Treasury.

The [[government of Ukraine]] also includes the Ministry of Finance as well as the Ministry of State Treasury. It was the same in [[government of Italy|Italy]] before the creation of the united Ministry of Economy.

In the [[Australian federal government]] a treasurer and a finance minister co-exist. The [[Department of the Treasury (Australia)|Department of the Treasury]] is responsible for drafting the government budget, economic policy (except [[monetary policy]]), some market regulation and revenue policy (which is administered by the [[Australian Taxation Office]]). The Finance Minister, who manages the [[Department of Finance (Australia)|Department of Finance]], is responsible for budget management, government expenditure and market deregulation.

==Treasuries as locations==
A treasury is also a room or building in which precious or valuable objects are preserved,<ref>[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/205377?rskey=JUP7ka&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid treasury] at [[OED]]</ref> especially ''[[Objet d'art|objets d’art]]'' in precious metals and jewels, of a ruler or other collector which are kept in a secure room and often found in the basement of a palace or castle.
 
===State treasuries===
In past times revenue collected by the monarch would be kept in a secure stronghold; the kings of [[England]] traditionally used the [[Tower of London]], which also housed the [[Royal Mint]]. Latterly [[gold reserve]]s are held in a country's [[central bank]]; the [[gold reserves of the United Kingdom]] are housed in a vault at the [[Bank of England]].<ref>[https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/index/gold/uk-gold-reserves/''UK Gold Reserves''] at bullionbypost; retrieved 2 January 2020</ref>

The country with the largest gold reserve is the [[United States]]; the US claims to have 8133.5 tons of gold, held at [[United States Bullion Depository|Fort Knox]] (58%), [[West Point Bullion Depository|West Point]] (20%), the [[US Mint]] in [[Denver]] (16%) and the residue (approximately 5%) at the [[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]].<ref>[https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/us-gold-reserves-immense-interest-russia-china/ ''US Gold Reserves, Of Immense Interest to Russia and China''] at bullionstar.com; retrieved 2 January 2020</ref>

The second largest reserve, that of [[Germany]], is held at the [[Deutsche Bundesbank]] in [[Frankfurt am Main]], the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and the Bank of England in London.<ref name=CLT>[https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-investor/gold-investor-december-2017/transparency ''Transparency – at least as valuable as gold''] Carl-Ludwig Thiele, 14 December 2017, at gold.org;  retrieved 2 January 2020</ref>

The third, held by the [[IMF]], is in a number of  in designated deposits.

These treasuries are believed to satisfy a number of essential criteria, which include cost efficiency, security, and the ability to liquidate reserves at short notice.<ref name=CLT/>

===Church treasuries===
{{main|Church treasure}}
The [[Christian Church|Church]] has [[Church treasure|a variety of treasures]] that have spiritual or religious value rather than financial worth; these are housed in treasuries at most cathedrals. These take the form of [[relic]]s, [[icon]]s, [[Illuminated manuscript|manuscripts]], [[votive offerings]] and [[Vestment|liturgical garments]]. Of particular note are the [[St Chad Gospels]] at [[Lichfield Cathedral]], and the [[Codex Eyckensis]] at St Catherine's Church, [[Maaseik]]. The treasury at [[Aachen cathedral]] has a number of valuable artifacts, such as the [[Cross of Lothair]] and the [[Aachen Treasury Gospels|Treasury Gospels]].

===Private treasuries===
Collections of personal treasures, where the objects assembled are there because of the interest of the collector, rather than any intrinsic value, have been seen since the times of the Ancient Greeks, and more particularly, the Romans.<ref>D Presziosi  ''The Art of Art History'' p573-4 (2009) {{ISBN|9780199229840}}</ref> For example, various Roman emperors devoted considerable effort to bring Egyptian [[obelisk]]s from the Middle East [[List of obelisks in Rome|to Rome]], or had copies made in Rome itself. 
In medieval times a number of monarchs had menageries of exotic beasts; [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] (r.1216-1292) owned three leopards, a polar bear and an African elephant, while emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] (r.1220-1250) owned giraffes, cheetahs, lynxes, leopards, exotic birds and an elephant, and had a variety of rare falcons. The private collection of curiosities in England has been ascribed to 16th century polymath [[Francis Bacon]],<ref>B Arnold ''The Art Atlas of Britain and Ireland'' (1991) {{ISBN|9780670819256}}</ref> and in Europe to the emperor [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolph II]]. In Russia this was pioneered by tsar [[Peter the Great]].<ref>MB Piotrovski ''Great private Collections of Imperial Russia'' p15 
(2004) {{ISBN|9780500511824}}</ref>
Notable modern collections include the [[Waddesdon Bequest|Waddesdon]] and the  [[Wallace Collection|Wallace]] collections in Britain, and the [[J. Paul Getty Museum|Getty]] and [[List of Guggenheim Museums|Guggenheim]] collections in the US.

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Bank]]
* [[Finance Minister]]
* [[Fiscus]]
* [[Mint (coin)|Mint]]
* [[Treasury management]]
* [[HM Treasury]] (United Kingdom)
* [[United States Department of the Treasury]]
* [[Government bond]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Wiktionary}}
{{Money and central banking within the contemporary United States (pre–1913)}}

[[Category:Government institutions]]
[[Category:Financial services organizations]]