Scholars at Buffalo University, New York, have discovered a collection of coins which date back to the Greek empire of the fifth century B.C., stowed away in the library and forgotten after having been donated to the library by a benefactor in 1935, along with a collection of antiquarian books.
The collection comprises 40 silver Greek coins bearing images of Greek gods and rulers, which were called tetradrachm and equivalent to four drachmae, as well as three gold Greek coins and a dozen gold coins dating back to the Roman Empire.
According to staff at the University, the gold coins are in perfect condition, having been of high value and kept out of circulation, while the silver coins show the signs of their everyday use. Professors at the university intend to construct a new course around the study of the hoard.