Up to 50,000 Roman coins discovered off coast of Sardinia

Bronze coins dating from fourth century are in exceptional state of preservation, Italy's culture ministry says

An Italian diver's sighting of something metallic near the coast of Sardinia has led to the discovery of tens of thousands of Roman bronze coins, Italy's culture ministry has said.

After the man alerted the authorities, divers from an art protection squad and the ministry's undersea archaeology department were sent to investigate. The coins, which date back to the first half of the fourth century, were found among sea grass not far from the north-east shore of the Mediterranean island.