 Many pawnbrokers were professional or semi-professional and operated from private shops.The main difference between Roman and English law is that under Roman law, certain items (such as wearing apparel, furniture, and instruments of tillage) could not be pledged; there is no such restriction in English law.The emperor Augustus converted the proceeds from property confiscated from criminals into a fund from which the state lent money without interest to those who pledged valuables equal to double the amount borrowed.