Posted on 11/06/2023 8:45:16 AM PST by SunkenCiv
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 ministry posted images and video of the stunning discovery.
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.
Officials said presence of coinage from Constantine the Great confirmed that the treasure could be dated between 324 and 340 AD.
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.
"All the coins were in an exceptional and rare state of preservation," the ministry said. The few coins that were damaged still had legible inscriptions, it said...
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.
The discovery comes just weeks after officials announced that Roman coins dating to about the same time were found in Wales.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
“Your time is up. Please deposit 10,000 more coins.”
Not quite the way it worked in Argentina. Ma Bell apparently had the phones everywhere. Argentina nationalized everything. Threw Ma Bell people out, including those who knew how to get the pay phones to respond to new coinage necessary because of inflation. Thus by the mid 60 calls were very cheap. Unfortunately they also kicked out anyone with maintenance knowledge and it was rare to get your call through.
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