Anti-smuggling police in the western province of İzmir detained two suspects who tried to sell a 2,600-year-old coin, one of the earliest of its kind in the world, in an operation on Friday.

The suspects had traveled to the province's Bornova district from Kuşadası, a nearby town, to sell the coins. Police found 20 artifacts from ancient jewelry to coins in possession of the two suspects.

One of the coins were discovered to be 2,600-years-old, from the era of the Lydians, ancient people who used gold and silver coins for the first time in the world. Police also found a 1,700-year-old Roman gold coin, a rare artifact. The coins were handed to the Izmir Museum of Archaeology.