A diver who spotted something metallic not far from Sardinia's coast has led to the discovery of tens of thousands of ancient bronze coins.

Italy's culture ministry said Saturday that the diver alerted authorities, who sent divers assigned to an art protection squad along with others from the ministry's undersea archaeology department.

The coins dating from the first half of the fourth century were found in sea grass, not far from the northeast shore of the Mediterranean island. The ministry didn't say exactly when the first diver caught a glimpse of something metallic just off shore Sardinia, not far from the town of Arzachena.

Exactly how many coins have been retrieved hasn't been determined yet, as they are being sorted. A ministry statement estimated that there are at least about 30,000 and possibly as many as 50,000, given their collective weight.

The coins were mainly found in a wide area of sand between the underwater seagrass and the beach, the ministry said. Given the location and shape of the seabed, there could be remains of ship wreckage nearby, the ministry said.

To read the complete article, see:
Tens of thousands of ancient coins have been found off Sardinia. They may be spoils of a shipwreck(https://apnews.com/article/italy-ancient-coins-sardinia-divers-cabdfa070d37a8020f874dd90c0a2433)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Tens of thousands of ancient coins have been found off Sardinia. They may be spoils of a shipwreck(https://wgno.com/news/entertainment/ap-tens-of-thousands-of-ancient-coins-have-been-found-off-sardinia-they-may-be-spoils-of-a-shipwreck/)