Chapter 215: Selling Gold Coins

"Your gold coin... is indeed a George III gold coin. There is no issue with it. Not only does it have a high gold content, but it also holds certain collectible value. I'm not sure how many you have, but if the number is significant, our auction house can take them all." The old man, who had been examining the coin through a magnifying glass, set it down and nodded at the middle-aged man next to him.

Seeing the old man nod, the middle-aged man turned to Jiang Hai with a serious expression and said, "The number is substantial."

Jiang Hai smiled, picking up the teacup in front of him and taking a sip, though he was already quite pleased inside. Moses Adams, sitting beside him, looked at his boss with a hint of curiosity. He hadn't expected this man to be so fortunate.

It was the fifth day since Fu Yuan had left. Jiang Hai had unearthed the last box of gold coins just the day before.

He immediately contacted Moses Adams, and, of course, Phillips' team was involved too.

Although Phillips had somewhat swindled Jiang Hai with the manor, he didn't have a market for the gold. While he could melt the gold down and sell it, the price wasn't particularly high. Gold was trading at around $168 per ounce, with an ounce weighing about 28 grams. Jiang Hai had tested the gold content of the coins, and while it wasn't as disappointing as 18k gold, it wasn't high either. A 15-gram gold coin had a gold content of around 13.5 grams, which is 900 fine gold.

Two coins together weighed less than an ounce. Jiang Hai had spent half the night sorting through all the coins, totaling 43,817. If he sold the gold as bullion, he might get over 21,000 ounces, which would amount to only three or four million dollars. That didn't impress him much.

To others, three or four million might seem like a lot, but for Jiang Hai, it wasn't particularly enticing. However, if these gold coins were sold as antiques, even if they weren't of high value, based on the price Moses Adams had mentioned—around $400 per coin—that would bring in $16 or $17 million, multiplying the value by four or five times.

Once Phillips learned that Jiang Hai had a batch of gold coins to sell, they became interested.

The gem Jiang Hai had previously sold them had earned them a lot of money. Now they hoped Jiang Hai would bring them another lucrative deal.

This morning, their New York office sent an old man and a middle-aged man to handle the appraisal and business negotiations. Jiang Hai was accompanied by Moses Adams.

By the time Moses Adams arrived, Jiang Hai had already informed him about the batch of gold coins.

"To be straightforward, I have 43,817 gold coins here, and I can guarantee these coins are not from the shipwreck, so there's no conflict of interest. Now, please make an offer," Moses Adams said confidently, as Jiang Hai took another sip from his teacup.

The two Phillips representatives shifted uncomfortably. According to international salvage law, items salvaged from warships on the high seas belonged to the country, unless it could be proven they came from a merchant ship. Salvaged goods could be worth hundreds of thousands, even millions. Countries would never allow the spoils of warships to slip through their fingers. Hence, many salvage sites involved legal disputes.

Phillips had intended to use this principle to lower the price, but with Moses Adams bringing it up, they had no choice but to acknowledge it. Of course, since Moses Adams was a lawyer, such a clause would need to be written into the contract, putting any potential issues on Jiang Hai's shoulders.

"Well, considering Mr. Jiang Hai's good relationship with our company, we'll make a first offer: $10 million for all the gold coins. How does that sound, Mr. Jiang Hai?" The middle-aged man from Phillips spoke up, attempting to quote a price.

"Get out," Jiang Hai said bluntly.

"Hey, Mr. Jiang, don't be so hasty. Let's discuss this calmly," the two Phillips representatives panicked. They hadn't expected Jiang Hai to dismiss them so easily. Although George III gold coins were not rare, the sheer number Jiang Hai had was extraordinary. If they took them to Europe, there would certainly be buyers willing to pay top dollar.

"We've worked together before... I bought this manor for $280 million. You tricked me at the start. Why would I pay that much for such a small place? It's the most expensive in the U.S. If I wanted a ranch, I could've bought one in Montana, a hundred times bigger for the same price. If I wanted a fishery, Florida or New Mexico would've given me one a thousand times bigger. I could've even bought a Caribbean island. For the same price, I could've gotten a mansion several times larger in Los Angeles! This is how you tricked me! But I signed the contract and still thought of you when I had business. And now you offer me $10 million? Is that your price? Get out!" Jiang Hai said, looking at them with contempt.

The two men from Phillips grew increasingly embarrassed. When the manor was sold to Jiang Hai, it had indeed been overpriced—about $280 million compared to the $150 million Phillips had originally paid for it. The difference was significant. Had Jiang Hai been more knowledgeable at the time, he could have secured a lower price, possibly under $200 million. After being tricked once, they had dared to return, only to find Jiang Hai unyielding.

"Ha, Mr. Jiang, you're a bit upset. I wasn't the one who sold you the manor... How about this? To show my sincerity, we'll offer $15 million. What do you say?" The middle-aged man smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"My client doesn't want to argue. Our price is $20 million," Moses Adams said, keeping a calm demeanor. The contract for the manor was already signed, and they weren't going to recover that money, but he wasn't about to let the gold coins slip away either.

"Twenty million? These coins aren't worth that much. At $456.44 per coin, the retail price is only between $400 and $410 in the U.S. Given the number of coins I have, how about this: I'll offer $17,500,280 for 400 gold coins," the middle-aged man countered, showing a fair price for the coins in the U.S. market.

During the First and Second World Wars, British soldiers used these gold coins for wages, meaning there were still many in the U.S., although the number in Europe was lower due to melting and remaking.

Moses Adams, however, wasn't willing to accept that price. "I understand. But if you plan to sell these coins in Europe, their average price there is €410, which is equivalent to $447. So, $430 per coin is reasonable. Besides, transporting more than 40,000 coins won't be necessary if you ship them directly. This would give you a profit of over $700,000, which isn't bad."

The two men from Phillips looked a bit frustrated as they discussed privately. After hearing their discussion, the middle-aged man came back with a decision.

"We have two final offers. The first is $430 per coin, with a new agreement. We don't want to probe into how Mr. Jiang Hai came into possession of these treasures, but if you have similar items in the future, we hope you'll offer them to our auction house first. If you don't agree to this, our final offer is $415 per coin."

Jiang Hai raised an eyebrow, surprised by their proposal. They were clearly stunned by the amount of treasure he had, but it didn't matter if they were surprised. They could speculate all they liked, but in the end, Jiang Hai had the upper hand.

Besides, Jiang Hai was about to level up, which he expected to happen tomorrow. (To be continued...)