CUDDALORE: Revenue and police officials have seized 104 ‘gold’ coins, weighing roughly five sovereigns, unearthed by a farmer and two construction workers at Tittakudi in Cuddalore district.

Police said G Murugan, 45, a farmer from A M K Nagar Extension in Tittakudi, engaged two workers to construct a septic tank behind his house. The workers, identified as A Periyannan, 65, and V Ramasamy, 63, found a small metal container while they were digging a pit. The curious workers attempted to open it when Murugan interrupted and directed them to continue with their work.

When the construction work was over, Ramasamy left the site. Periyannan took the metal box and broke it in the presence of the farmer. To their surprise, they found small gold-like coins. They believed that someone might have buried the metal box with coins after performing rituals to ward off evil spirits. The farmer transferred the coins to a plastic container and kept it in his house. The incident happened on February 16.

Later, Periyannan narrated the incident to his nephew, M Kabilan, who argued that it was a gold treasure and insisted him to seek a share of it. Accordingly, the worker along with Kabilan and another person reached Murugan’s house and demanded their share. Murugan came forward to hand over the entire treasure to them but the worker and others took only 43 coins and left. Kabilan took three coins to produce them to a jewel appraiser for ascertaining whether the coins were made of gold.

Meanwhile, Ramasamy’s wife Anjalai reached Periyannan’s house and created a ruckus when she learned that he had got a share of the coins while her husband had not. The news soon spread in the village and the villagers informed the police.

A police team rushed to Murugan’s house and made preliminary inquiries. Murugan admitted to unearthing a metal box and revenue officials, in the presence of police, seized 61 coins from his possession on Friday.

Officials tried to trace Periyannam, but he had left for Kerala. They called him on his phone and warned that he would be arrested if he failed to surrender the coins within a few days. Subsequently, Periyannan appeared before the revenue officials on Saturday and surrendered the 43 gold coins .

The officials sent the seized coins to the treasury. They have sought the help of the archaeological experts to date the coin.

Initial inquiries with the jewellers revealed that these coins, termed as ‘pottu kasu,’ were not used for ornamental purpose but used as money.