Chapter 50: Copper Coin and Incense Burner
But getting too close would scorch his internal circulation, and right now, he couldn’t absorb any of it at all.
He cautiously took another half-step toward the stone pillar.
The searing heat surged up from his chest again, more intense than before. The warmth within his Throne of the Sun began to tremble.
He stopped.
After retreating to a safe distance, his breathing stabilized.
’Act within your limits. No wonder Grandfather wrote that on the note.’
’As long as I can retreat, I’m safe. The moment I can’t, things will probably go completely wrong.’
Donal watched his reaction, seemingly having expected it.
"Young man, your inspiration is quite sharp. For someone your age, that’s both a good thing and a bad thing."
Richard averted his gaze and walked to the other side of the shelf. "May I see the copper coin and the Incense Burner?"
"Of course." Donal took the copper coin and the Incense Burner down from the shelf.
He returned to the front of the shop and placed the two items on a velvet cloth on the counter.
"Seeing as it’s your first time here, let me tell you about the market."
Donal sat back on his high stool, crossed his legs, and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
"The Imperial Capital’s market for Marvels is currently divided into three tiers."
"Those contaminated for less than a hundred years, with weak Ether residue, go for under ten pounds apiece."
"For those between a hundred and a thousand years, with a clear history of ritual saturation, prices start at twenty pounds with no upper limit."
"As for those that are even older..." He jutted his chin toward the stone pillar fragment in the corner of the back room.
"Just pretend you didn’t see it. That kind of merchandise almost never circulates through normal channels."
"What about these two?" Richard tapped the copper coin and the Incense Burner with his finger.
"This coin itself is from the Ancient Roman period. It’s been contaminated for a little under a hundred years, its foundation is clean, and the Ether residue is stable. Six pounds."
Donal picked up the Incense Burner and turned it over.
"This is a Brass Incense Burner from the Sophie Sect. The craftsmanship is decent, the overall object is larger, and the contamination period is also around a hundred years. Seven pounds."
"Thirteen pounds for both." He placed the two items side-by-side on the velvet cloth and spread his hands.
’Thirteen pounds... But I only have twelve in the wooden box. Am I going to have to borrow money from Vincent here?’
"Can you tell me the history of these two items?" Richard asked tentatively, his haggling tactics charging up.
Donal’s eye behind his monocle narrowed.
People who came to buy Marvels and asked about their history usually fell into one of two categories.
The first were amateurs. They loved to hear stories—the more legendary, the better, and the more likely they were to open their wallets.
The Vincent from before was exactly that type, and he loved dealing with such amateurs.
The second type were experts. They asked about the history to determine the specific process of Ether contamination.
Was it active saturation through rituals or passive permeation from the environment? Was it from a single source or a superposition of multiple sources?
Judging from this boy’s reaction the moment he entered the back room, he probably wasn’t the former.
Donal placed the coin on a wooden box on the counter to give them a clearer view.
"This is a silver coin from the era of Diocletian..."
"It may be mixed with silver, but it’s a copper coin," Richard interrupted.
Donal’s eyelid twitched.
"The obverse is minted with a profile of Diocletian, so the period is correct."
"But the material is a silver-copper alloy with a silver content of less than thirty percent. That’s characteristic of the Imperial financial collapse in the fourth century."
"At that time, the official mints drastically altered the copper-to-silver ratio, debasing the currency, which ultimately triggered a persistent monetary crisis."
He flicked the edge of the copper coin with his fingernail. The sound was dull, lacking the crisp ring of pure silver.
"A silver ingot and a copper one don’t sound the same, sir."
Donal didn’t deny it, just moved the magnifying glass aside.
"Fine, it’s a silver-copper alloy. But the age is real, and the ritual saturation is real. You’re not buying it for the bit of silver inside, are you?"
"I believe it was ritually saturated." Richard flipped the copper coin to its reverse side.
The obverse showed Diocletian with a laurel crown; the reverse, the goddess of victory, Victoria, holding a palm branch in her right hand and a round shield in her left.
"But the wear is too uniform."
Richard placed the copper coin on the velvet cloth and pointed to the wear around its edge with his forefinger.
"Under normal use from circulation, the recessed areas are the last to show wear."
"But the wear on this coin is evenly distributed all over. Even the wear on the top of the goddess Victoria’s head is about the same as in the recessed parts."
He stated his conclusion:
"This isn’t normal wear from circulation. It’s from grinding."
"Someone placed this copper coin on a flat surface and ground it down by spinning it repeatedly to collect the copper dust."
"It was most likely the work of an alchemist using copper dust with silver content as a medium for potions. This method of grinding would cause uniform damage to the coin’s surface."
Vincent watched from the side, marveling inwardly at his cousin’s profound Scholarship.
Donal’s expression didn’t change much, but his hands disappeared beneath the counter.
"Even if it was used by an alchemist, the Ether contamination is still a fact."
"It’s a fact, but there’s a problem with the nature of the contamination."
Richard felt the feedback from his internal circulation.
"This copper coin was ground down repeatedly. The Ether was forcibly injected along the direction of the grinding, not deposited naturally."
He put the copper coin down.
Donal studied him for a long moment without speaking.
"And this Incense Burner, you said it’s from the Sophie Sect."
Richard lifted the lid of the Incense Burner, set it aside, and leaned in to inspect the inner wall of the chamber.
The inner wall had a fine layer of carbon buildup, which had seeped into the brass from years of use.
The bottom of the burner had a shallow rose relief. In Sophie tradition, the rose symbolizes divine love and is closely related to fire rituals.
"There’s no problem with the Incense Burner itself. It’s a daily-use item from a Sophie Sanctuary, and its Ether contamination is the most standard type—natural deposition from incense smoke."
He placed the lid back on and ran his forefinger along the filigree pattern on its rim.
"But here, there’s a layer of heterogeneous copper oxide around the outer rim of the lid, with a different patina from the main body of the burner."
"This indicates the lid was replaced later with a non-original material. The copper alloy composition is different."
He turned the Incense Burner over. The base had no Inscription, but there were small, regular, circular holes.
"There are three vent holes on the bottom. An original Sophie Sanctuary Incense Burner wouldn’t need bottom vents at all."
"This was a later modification, probably to allow the Incense Burner to be hung."
He placed the Incense Burner back on the velvet cloth. "How about nine pounds for both?"
Donal’s monocle nearly fell from his nose.
"Not ’how about’ at all! Young man, that’s a ruthless cut."
"Sir, I’ve already explained the problems with your copper coin and Incense Burner quite clearly."
Donal opened his mouth.
Vincent chimed in from the side, "Uncle Donald, that copper coin does look pretty worn to me."
"You’re getting in on this too?" Donal shot him a glare.
"Of course, of course. He’s my cousin, after all." Vincent grinned, not holding back in the slightest.
Donal picked up the copper coin and turned it over, then held the Incense Burner up to his eye and examined it with the magnifying glass.
"I’ll give you the copper coin; it does have some wear issues."
"But you’re wrong about the Incense Burner. Those minor changes don’t affect its overall structural integrity."
"Eleven and a half pounds. I won’t sell it for a penny less."
Richard frowned and pointed out the Incense Burner’s most fatal flaw:
"This Incense Burner changed hands at some point in its history, and this change in ownership happened while it was being used as a ritual object."
"It was used repeatedly by people from different factions, so subsequent Ether has been superimposed on the original deposits, creating an interference layer."
"Clearing out that interference will take extra effort upfront. Nine and a half pounds."
"How old are you?" Donal asked suddenly.
"Sixteen."
"Who taught you all this?"
"Books."
Donal sighed and glanced at his ledger.
"Ten pounds, for both. I’ll even throw in a leather pouch to carry them. The clogged Ether is your problem."
"Nine and a half pounds."
"Ten pounds sharp. No more negotiating. Take it or leave it."
Donal slapped his palm on the counter. "At this price, I’m not even making a reasonable profit. I’m doing this purely out of respect for Mr. Gerald, and..."
He pointed at Richard.
"...and because you, kid, really know your stuff. You didn’t misjudge my goods."
Richard thought for a moment, then opened his satchel and counted out the banknotes.
"Alright, ten pounds."
Donal counted the money note by note and stuffed it into an iron box under the counter, his face looking like he’d just chewed on a sour lemon.
He wrapped the copper coin and the Incense Burner in two layers of oil paper, placed them in the leather pouch, and pushed it over.
"Everyone from the Ashford Family is a sharp one."
He muttered, taking the monocle from his nose to wipe it.
"The last time your aunt was here, she haggled just as hard. No one in your family is an easy customer."
Vincent beamed, grinning from ear to ear.
Donal put his monocle back on and walked around from behind the counter.
He went to the doorway, lifted the tapestry, and made a "please leave" gesture.
"You’ve bought your items and received your letter. I’ll see you two out."
"Uncle Donald..."
"Go, go, go. I haven’t even eaten yet. You two have been wearing me down all morning, and I haven’t made enough to buy a salted fish."