A Romanian man who found what could be the oldest forged coins in history while out treasure hunting with his son says he will use his fortune to 'buy a new metal detector'.

Paul Croituru, 37, dug up the trove of 300 forged silver coins worth nearly £120,000 - more than ten times what he earns a year as a council worker.

But the father, who found the ancient Greek coins with the help of son Alexandru, 13, immediately told the authorities and will now lose nearly all of the money because of local treasure hunting rules.

Despite being forgeries of the 2,350-year-old Tetradrachm currency, experts say each 5mm penny is worth £400.

The haul of 309 whole coins and 40 fragments is worth around £120,000, according to currency experts

Paul Croituru, 37, found the ancient Greek forged coins near the site of a medieval village in northern Romania

The father and son found 309 whole coins believed to be worth £400 each, as well as 40 fragments of the forged currency, but went straight to the authorities with their haul.

They are believed to be the oldest counterfeit coins ever found, and were produced just 400 years after the first ever coins were made.

The pair are now likely to receive £12,000 - just 10 per cent of the estimated total value of the forged coins - while the rest goes to the Government.

Mr Croituru said: 'It is still more than I earn in a year from my job but I have never done this for money.

'There are those in the area that say I was foolish not to have kept the lot, and could easily have sold them abroad with nobody any the wiser.

'But my son would have known, and what sort of an example is that for a boy to get from his father? I don't have any regrets.

'I thought to be an example for my son. He is passionate about history.

Mr Croituru said they were using an old metal detector that was worth around £120 when he bought it, but is now considering an upgrade.

'If I get something, I'll buy a new metal detector,' he added.

Each 2,350-year-old silver coin is thought to be worth £400, even though it was made as a forgery

The Croiturus found the silver coins in a 25 metres squared area of the Partestii de Sus region of northern Romania, near the site of a long-abandoned medieval village.

The coins, which weigh 1.5kg altogether, were buried at depths between two inches and two feet.

Experts believe they are forgeries of the ancient Greek Tetradrachm currency and could be around 2,350 years old, dating back to when King Philip II reigned over the then Ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon.

Most of the coins show a Greek solider on horseback on one side and a face on the other.

Local historian Viorel Blanaru said: 'They are made of raw silver, quite good workmanship, quite good copies but that's what they are - copies of Greek coins.'

However, in ancient times it was the quality of the silver that was important, and he said that exchanging parts of coins was an way of giving change.

He said: 'If you had something that cost half a penny, and you only had a penny, you simply cut it in half which would explain why there were also fragments.'



The coins will be restored and taken to Suceava History Museum in north-eastern Romania, where they will be put on display.

Mr Croituru said: 'We have never found anything much before. The odd coin - but mostly just bullet cases, old tins or rusty nails.

'It can be a bit disheartening but it was fun to spend time together and of course dream we would one day find something.'

But in the latest expedition, that was exactly what happened when the father and son team heard a huge bleep and began digging out an astonishing haul of coins.

'We found one, then another, then another, then a pile of them. We couldn't believe it. We were pulling them up in handfuls,' he said.

'It is every treasure hunter's dream.'