A diver spotted something underwater off the coast of Sardinia. It looked like metal.

Eureka! It wasn’t any old piece of metal. The find was tens of thousands of ancient bronze coins.

The diver alerted authorities. More divers from the art protection squad set out to retrieve the treasure.

The coins are from the first half of the fourth century. The ocean searchers found them in sea grass. They weren’t far from the northeast shore of the Mediterranean island.

How many coins did divers bring to the surface? No one knows yet. They are still being sorted. But officials guess there are somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000. The coins are in great shape. Researchers can still read the words on them.

Luigi La Rocca is a Sardinian archaeology department official. He calls the find “one of the most important coin discoveries” in recent years.

The sea can preserve parts of history. These coins come from around the time in which Christians wrote the Nicene Creed. That was the year A.D. 325. That might seem very long ago. But many Christians still use that clear statement of what Christians believe. Do you say the creed in your church services?

The coins also lead to more questions. What’s the rest of the story? Did they come from a shipwreck? It’s time to dive in and check!

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. — Matthew 13:44