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A rare half-shekel silver coin from Year One of the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans, was discovered in the Judean Desert (Credit: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority)
An ordinary spring day quickly became extraordinary after a nature-loving metal detectorist unearthed a cache of ancient treasure.
Marius Mangeac confirmed the discovery to Fox News Digital. He said he found the hoard in a field near Letca Veche, a small village in southern Romania.
In a Facebook group, Mangeac said that he found the coins “on a beautiful Saturday that didn’t foreshadow anything of what was to come.”
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“I took my detector and went out alone, as I often do, for exercise and to relax in the fields and forests,” he wrote in his post, which was translated from Romanian to English.
“I didn’t think this day would surprise me and bring me face to face with history.”
A hoard of Ancient Roman coins dating back 2,000 years was recently found in a field in Romania. (Marius Mangeac via Facebook)
But suddenly his metal detector began beeping – and soon, Mangeac was looking at a hoard of 1,469 Roman coins.
Seeing the silver denarii, Mangeac said that his heart “[was] beating quite hard.”
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“[I] even thought about pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming,” the hobbyist said.
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“Whose were these coins, and what were they intended for?”
The findings consist of 1,469 silver denarii, which was the standard silver coin in Ancient Rome. (Marius Mangeac via Facebook)
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Mangeac estimated that the coins are at least 2,000 years old.
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After two strenuous days of photographing the coins, he handed them over to the town hall in Letca Nouă.
Mangeac said that it took him two full days to photograph the coins he found. (Marius Mangeac via Facebook)
The metal detectorist concluded, “I hope that one day I can take my child to the museum and explain to him how I was lucky enough to discover a page of our people’s history.”
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Mangeac’s discovery comes weeks after a pair of metal detectorists found ancient treasure in the Romanian commune of Breaza in Transylvania.
Mangeac said that he was humbled by his lucky discovery — and hopes to see it in a museum one day. (Marius Mangeac via Facebook)
The treasure dated back to the Dacians, who unsuccessfully warred against the Roman Empire in the second century A.D.
