Friday, November 10, 2023

Ancient Roman Bronze Coins Found off Coast of Sardinia

 Reported November 6, 2023

One lucky Sardinian spotted sparkling metal, not unlike the folks at the Garden Shaft on Oak Island and wound up discovering a huge hoard of bronze coins. 

Numbering in the tens of thousands, Italian authorities subsequently ordered art protection divers along with academics from undersea archaeology department to investigate.

Amongst the waving sea grasses, these coins date from the early half of the 4th century. They (the coins) were located close to the northeast shore of Sardinia, near Arzachena.

Balancing in at 30,000, to 50,000 based on weight, the final official count has not been made.



The Italian authorities claim all the coins were in a rare state of preservation. Though some were not in excellent condition, they still can be seen to have legible markings.

According to Luigi La Rocca of a Sardinian archaeology department, the trove is one of the most important discoveries of recent years. It is sometimes claimed that we know more about the moon than our oceans. The bottom of our seas have preserved and kept human heritage over the millennia. It is therefore a place ripe with new possibilities for treasure.

Many civil authorities were used to dive on and retrieve the coins. Police and firefighters were utilized. 

The seagrass near the coast grows in a wide section of sand. This sand goes on up to the beach. Since the sand has preserved the coins, there is hope that a shipwreck may still be discovered.

Even if these individual coins are currently valued in the single digit area, the hoard could be worth over $400,000. But its value lies in the history. 

For more on Roman treasure, see Golden Legends: Tales of Buried Treasure: Bags of Welsh Silver Treasure Found at New Site (goldlegendstalesofburiedtreasure.blogspot.com)


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