Beltangady: Workers at a site belonging to Dharmaraj Shetty in Mittabagilu in the taluk stumbled upon a rare treasure made of silver coins belonging to the Victoria era over a century ago.
Dharmaraj, who had inherited the ancestral house, was getting it demolished with the help of earth-moving equipment. Eighteen pieces of silver, carrying the image of Queen Victoria I were found deep in the mud.
As required under law, the owner of the plot informed the police, who in turn brought it to the notice of the tahsildar who is also ex-officio taluk magistrate. They have been handed to his custody, for onward disposal by the Archaeological Survey of India.
The police sources said that the coins belonged to 18th century. But Queen Victoria ruled between 1837 and 1901 and belonged to 19th century.