A large number of silver dollars were discovered in the wall of an old house in the town of Pangu in Ji'an, Jiangxi province, according to Thepaper.cn. The coins were found when the house was demolished on the afternoon of Dec. 19

As the news spread, hundreds of villagers rushed to the site, wielding flashlights as they scrabbled for the silver dollars. The hunt continued until midnight on Dec. 20.

As for the ownership of the silver dollars, a Ji'an-based lawyer explained that if objects discovered in the process of excavation can be proven to belong to a specific citizen, then that citizen's right to the objects is protected. Otherwise, the objects are regarded as national property.