Chapter 96 - 96 Shocking the Viewers! Qianlong’s Imperial Longquan Seal Ink! (4)
She thought that no one in her age group would prove a match for her abilities.
As such, the more she thought about it, the more she realized how amazing Luo Feng truly was. Is there no relic that he knows nothing about?
“Just a little, but I’m definitely no match for you!”
!!
Luo Feng responded humbly.
“Miss Qin, how much is this silver coin worth?”
Huang Tianba asked for the price.
After all, he had a share of the revenue.
Thus, he was anxious to find out.
“Hmm, what would it be worth, huh? The Qiqian Erfen coin from the Guangxu period is the 10th most expensive silver coin to have ever been sold. Back at the Jiade Spring Auction in 2021, it was sold for 10.2 million yuan!”
Of course, it was Master Zhong who answered the question. He then quickly added, “Those of you who wish to purchase it, please hold your talks later. Don’t interrupt me until I’m done appraising all these coins!”
Many collectors were eager to take action.
However, upon hearing the master’s words, they silently slinked back to their spots.
Master Zhong was right, having a large group of people barging in and interrupting an appraisal process was an unpleasant and frankly, unbearable experience.
Immediately after.
Master Zhong, Qin Rubing and the other experts got back to appraising.
After another 20 minutes, 100 silver coins had been appraised.
There was one that was worth tens of millions, but nothing else beyond the million mark.
However, a few of them were worth hundreds of thousands.
6 of them were worth around 50 thousand.
The rest ranged from a measly thousand to a couple thousand.
“This is a Shanghai fitness lion dragon silver coin weighing 1 tael!”
“It was sold for 10.74 million yuan last year at the Qisheng auction in Shanghai.”
“There aren’t more than 50 of them in the market!”
“It’s extremely expensive!”
After Qin Rubing finished.
Another commotion broke out in the livestream’s chat.
“Dammit! Host, they’re not speaking the human tongue again. I can’t understand them!”
“That’s right. Translate what they’re saying for us!”
“What the hell is this lion dragon thingy?”
Seeing this, Luo Feng smiled helplessly and explained, “1 tael is its weight. As for the lion and dragons, it’s referring to the image etched onto the coin.”
“Look at the pattern on the back of the silver ingot. If you only look at the head, it looks like a dragon. But if you look at its four limbs, doesn’t it look like a cute Lion that has taken off its ‘fur coat’ and is showing off its muscles to you?”
As Luo Feng spoke, he waved the silver in his hand and continued, “In my opinion, this coin is the Qing dynasty’s silver coin with the most Western characteristics. It can be said to be a ‘Chinese and Western’ art piece.”
“Of course, such silver coins not only have a market in the country, but also have a high collection value in foreign countries.”
…
“F * ck! It really looks like a buff lion!”
“But it’s also a dragon…”
“2 silver coins and you’ve already made another 20 million?”
“F*ck! He’s too invincible!”
“Are silver coins really this amazing?”
When everyone heard this, they were surprised again.
However, this was how the cultural relics industry worked. The value of a cultural relic was not determined by what you thought it was worth.
Everything would depend on the supply and demand of the market.
“Miss Qin, aside from the silver coins, I’ll refrain from appraising anything else. I’m not as good as the rest of you, after all!”
After putting down the last of the silver coins, Master Zhong took a step back.
“Alright, then it’s my turn to shine!”
Wang Yousheng’s biggest weakness was silver coins, but he had a decent wealth of knowledge regarding all other artifacts.
Wang Yousheng quickly brought over a tall stool and sat down in front of the chest.
He reached out and took a wooden box that was starting to rot.
After opening the box, Wang Yousheng chuckled, “It can be made this small?”
“Huh? Isn’t this a decorative paperweight1?”
How could Qin Rubing not know?
A paperweight is something used to press down paper when writing or painting. The most common type is a rectangular strip, also known as a “zhenchi” or “yachi”.
The original paperweight had no fixed shape.
...
Originally, paperweights did not have a fixed shape. The origin of paperweights is that ancient scholars often placed small bronze or jade objects on their desks to play with and appreciate. Because they had a certain weight, people would also use them to press down paper or books. Over time, this developed into a kind of stationery item known to many as a paperweight.
“What’s this?”
“A decorative paperweight?”
“Is it related to zombies?”
“Hmm, it sounds like I really want!”
Most of the viewers watching the livestream had never heard of it.
“This is what ancient scholars used to hold down their paper!”
Luo Feng could not believe at what his viewers were saying.
He was speechless.
How the f*ck did they connect this to zombies?
It’s ridiculous!
...
Wang Yousheng continued inspecting the box’s contents. There were 5 paperweights within it, and he had chosen one with a dragon pattern for study. After a while, he exclaimed, “Miss Qin, the material this paperweight is made out of isn’t ordinary! It’s ivory!”
“Holy crap!”
“Ivory?”
“Damn!?”
The surrounding crowd collectively gasped.
A dragon patterned ivory artifact?
Surely, it must be worth some money, right?
“If I’m not wrong, it should be a dragon-patterned ivory decorative paperweight!”
“Its price should be around 580 thousand!”
“Ivory materials are not as expensive as you think!”
“Ivory chopsticks of average quality are only worth a few thousand yuan in the cultural relics market!”
“After all, if the value of ivory were to be propped up by these artifacts, the Wildlife Protection Association would come knocking down on our doors… I’m sure you all understand!”
Qin Rubing took furtive glances around her. She had purchased such items before.
Due to ivory having a small market, and due to the officials’ efforts in suppressing its popularity, the market for such items was rather small.
“Damn!”
“Only 580 thousand?”
“What the hell is this?”
“I know right?!”
When everyone heard this price, they were obviously not satisfied.