Police ignored as Chinese treasure hunters dig up 500kg of Qing dynasty coins

Hundreds of Chinese treasure hunters – including pensioners and children – ignored outnumbered police as they dug up more than 500kg of ancient coins during an unauthorised mass dig near a river, mainland media reported.

Local police had to bring in 20 reinforcements the next day before they were able to cordon off the area and stop villagers digging for artefacts in a 30 square metre area of riverbank beside the Gan River in Xingan county, Jiangxi province, last week, the provincial news portal Jxcn.cn reported.

The county authorities are now trying to recover the antique coins, believed to date from the Qing (1644-1911) dynasty, which were uncovered without permission.

The private excavation of antiques is illegal as Chinese law stipulates that all such discoveries belong to the government, a local official said.

Inscriptions on the coins suggested they date from the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) during the Qing dynasty, the official said.