A DIVER discovered a treasure trove containing at least 30,000 Roman coins that date back to the fourth century.
The ancient artifacts were said to be in excellent condition after being recovered from the seabed.
Cover ImagesDivers found a trove of rare coins on the seabed off the coast of Italy[/caption]
Cover ImagesAt least 30,000 coins were recovered[/caption]
They were discovered off the coast of Sardinia and Italian officials speculated there were between 30,000 and 50,000 individual pieces.
Estimates suggest that the coins, which date back to the years 324-340, are worth around $3 million.
Government ministers suspect the coins were found near a shipwreck, per CNN.
Near the coins were the remains of historic jugs that have Greek or Roman origin.
A government spokesperson told the Associated Press: “All the coins were in an excellent and rare state of preservation.”
Only a handful of coins were damaged, but they were still legible.
Diving crews from the fire service and border force were involved in bringing the historic find to shore.
Luigi La Rocca, the regional director general of archeology, fine arts, and landscape, hailed the find.
He said: “The treasure found in the waters of Arzachena represents one of the most important discoveries of numismatic finds in recent years.”
The stunning find came just months after a man from Kentucky discovered a trove of 700 rare gold coins.
The coins date back to the Civil War era and are estimated to be worth $2 million, per the Fox affiliate WDRB.
In 2015, William Bartlett spotted a treasure trove consisting of 300-year-old gold coins while scuba-diving off the coast of Florida.
The haul was believed to be worth a whopping $4.5 million.
Bartlett told Reuters that it looked like the gold had dropped into the water “yesterday” after it was recovered.