A man found almost 1,500 ancient coins during a walk (7 photos)

A man with a metal detector in Romania has discovered almost 1,500 ancient Roman silver coins that had been buried in the ground for about 1,700 years.





A Romanian man, Bebe Manjac, accidentally stumbled upon one of the largest hoards of Roman coins discovered in the country in recent years. While walking with a metal detector through the hills near the village of Letţa Veche, near the border with Bulgaria, he found more than 1,400 silver denarii that had been buried for almost 1,700 years.



Manjak said he chose the site for its unusual atmosphere and soft soil. At first glance, the ordinary hill hid a treasure trove: during the excavations, he found not only ancient coins, but also ceramic fragments from a vessel that probably contained money.

"When I saw the first coins, my hands started shaking. There were so many of them that I couldn't believe my eyes," Bebe told local media.

In total, he managed to extract 1,469 silver coins, including examples depicting Emperor Trajan and other Roman symbols.





According to Romanian law, a citizen who finds a historically significant artifact is obliged to hand it over to the authorities within 72 hours. For his find, Bebe can expect a reward of up to 45% of the estimated value of the treasure. He managed to hand over the coins to the city hall right after the Easter holidays, meeting the deadline.

Now the discovered site will be declared an archaeological site, and specialists will conduct excavations and research. The coins were handed over to the Department of Culture and, according to preliminary data, will in the future be added to the collection of the Teohari Antonescu County Museum in the city of Giurgiu.



Experts have not yet assessed the exact value of the find, but, according to preliminary estimates, it could be a significant amount.