SUNKEN treasure has been discovered submerged near a port by divers conducting a harbor cleanup.

    Everything that shines in this story is gold, as the divers hauled up nearly 900 coins during the project.

    The 99 Crew Dive Team had been cleaning up the waters near a wharf in Wellington Harbor, New Zealand, when they discovered the treasure trove, Stuff.co.nz reported.

    Dive organizer Rob Wilson said of the 868 coins discovered and retrieved, some were apparently of value. However, no valuation of the coins was given.

    Responding to comments on the story, one person — who appeared to be a member of the dive team — said any items of value would be sold and proceeds used to cover the cleanup job, which the divers paid for out of their own pocket.

    Footage of the dive team’s efforts shows them pulling a number of items out of the water and their sparkling — if slightly tarnished — pile of coins sitting on a piece of plastic.

    Among the other items discovered on the seabed were 577 cans, 116 glass bottles, a clothes iron, clothing, cash cards, cow bones and a bong.

    Wilson and other co-founder Pete Humphris spent a whole morning scrubbing the coins looking for the specific dates the buyer was interested in.

    Wilson said that people need to be more mindful about what they throw into the ocean.

    “Just be aware of where you’re putting stuff and where it is going. All that stuff that’s going into the drain is going directly into our oceans … guess where that’s going?

    “And guess who’s picking it up?” Wilson laughed.

    So do these guys consider themselves modern day treasure hunters?

    “We wish,” Humphris said, “the chances of seeing something like [the coins] again? Very rare, but we’ll still get out there and clean it up.”

    “Giving the harbor a hand, that’s what it’s about. There’s a lot of trash out there, we get a lot of joy out of diving and you’ve got to give something back and that’s what we’re doing.”

    It was the group’s second tidy-up in two weeks, Stuff reported.

    The dive team organizes the cleanups regularly to support the health of the harbor.(SD-Agencies)