Beijing, March 1 (IANS) A villager in China's Shaanxi province unearthed 459 kg of ancient coins while building a house, said sources on Tuesday.
The villager, surnamed Zhang from Xingping city, was levelling the land last Saturday when he found a hole half a metre deep. Three kinds of copper coins, some rectangular and others round, were stored inside. All the coins had a hole at the centre, Xinhau reported.
Xingping police were called to the site and took the coins. Feng Pengru, a police officer with the cultural relics inspection detachment, said the coins were from the Xin dynasty (9 AD-23 AD).
Wang Mang, an official from the Han dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), seized the throne to found the Xin dynasty following his regency. The capital of Xin was at Xi'an in Shaanxi, then called Chang'an. The Han dynasty was later re-established after Wang's death.
Wang launched a currency reform during his reign, issuing various coins. The bold reform only aggravated the financial crisis.
The coins will be cleaned and evaluated by archaeologists and given to the local museum.
