Chapter 288 The one who came this time is really rich
In fact, the visual effect of these golds salvaged from the seabed is not that shocking. After all, it has been on the seabed for so long that its luster must have been affected. In addition, the sea mud and sand make it look black.
Caballe used a water gun to rinse the gold coins vigorously, and the gold finally revealed its true appearance: several large boxes of gold coins were placed on the deck. And because of the different environments on the seabed, some were in the shipwreck and some were in the mud and sand, so the quality of the gold also varied.
The large boxes looked impressive, but they were actually much smaller than Xiao Peng had imagined. After weighing them, they weighed a little over 21 tons. In Xiao Peng's words, "a little over a cubic meter." Perhaps four-fifths of the coins were in poor condition, indicating a lack of purity. Ultimately, ten tons of gold would be considered a good yield from these coins.
However, considering that those gold coins in good condition can be sold as ancient coins, the price cannot be simply estimated according to the price of gold. Moro speculates that the price of this batch of gold should be between 600 million and 800 million.
After Walter and the others helped Xiao Peng put the gold coins into the safe, they celebrated and set off on their return journey. However, their ship did not go to La Ciotat, but to Marseille.
The disadvantage of switching to a larger ship was immediately apparent: La Ciotat dock couldn't accommodate a ship as large as the Calypsope! They had no choice but to anchor it in the New Port of Marseille.
This time, there were even more people to greet him.
Zhang Qikun and the French Bank's convoy and security personnel were waiting at the dock early to take over the gold: this was the price for naming the ship "Calyssop" - the gold was taken over by the French Bank.
Of course, this gold cannot be converted into cash immediately, and the purity and other factors need to be measured. In addition, Pascal needs to distinguish which gold coins should be sold as gold and which gold coins should be sold as ancient coins.
This will be a long process, so Xiao Peng still has no money.
However, Zhang Cuijian brought good news: the insurance money for the "Dragon Boat" and the "Red Head Boat" had arrived, but these several million were only a drop in the bucket for Xiao Peng's current business.
It's really hard to get a bargain from insurance companies, but this money can buy you some time.
Pascal also told Xiao Peng a piece of news: several wealthy people were interested in Cleopatra VII's jewelry and wanted to discuss the business with Xiao Peng.
However, Xiao Peng didn't really take this matter seriously.
Ever since Cleopatra VII's jewelry came to light, Xiao Peng has witnessed the shamelessness of Westerners.
This "moral kidnapping" is not exclusive to the Chinese. Westerners are even better at it.
Who do people working in the deep-sea salvage industry most often interact with? Of course, museum folks! After all, almost everything retrieved from the sea is a cultural relic! Those museum folks constantly approach Xiao Peng, hoping to "cooperate." Naturally, this "cooperation" means "picking up bargains" from him.
Xiao Peng was not good at dealing with these people, so he asked Pascal to deal with them. As a result, the feedback he got back made Xiao Peng curse.
"Our museum doesn't have much money, but we have sincerity!"
What sincerity can you talk about if you have no money?
"We at the museum can't provide you with enough funds, but you can earn our friendship."
How the hell do you want to talk about friendship with me when you take advantage of me right away?
"Treasures like this shouldn't be kept in the hands of private collectors, but in our museums. This is for the benefit of future generations."
It's not for the benefit of my descendants, so why should I care?
Anyway, those museums are more shady than the other. The highest bid for a set of Cleopatra VII's jewelry is 5 million euros. More often, they say, "You can donate this set of jewelry to us. Our museum will write your name when it is exhibited so that more people will know about your contribution to our museum."
Fuck you!
Now when Xiao Peng heard that someone wanted to buy this set of jewelry, he felt nothing at all. He thought it was just another scam by someone who wanted to take advantage of the situation.
Pascal coughed twice. "Um, Xiao, didn't you hear what I said? I said 'rich'! 'Rich'!"
Xiao Peng blinked: "What kind of rich man?"
Pascal pointed his finger. "Four billionaires with net worths in the ten or even eleven figures. You even know one of them."
"I know him?" Xiao Peng paused, then came to his senses. "You mean Ivan?"
The only wealthy person he knew who was worth that much was, in a way, the Russian oligarch Ivan Gavrila Vasily. He'd had his eye on a ruby brooch when Mata Hari was looking for jewelry, and he'd finally gotten his wish. While his relationship with Xiao Peng was only average, he had a good personal relationship with Pascal.
Pascal nodded. "That's him. In fact, you should also remember the other buyer."
"I know such a rich person?" Xiao Peng was stunned after hearing this.
Pascal said, "Do you remember the 'silver button' from the 'Mamluk period' that you sold me? I said at the time that there were seven known 'silver buttons', four of which were in the hands of one person, and that the buyer was this wealthy Egyptian who owned four 'silver buttons'. As for the other two, they were both Greeks."
Xiao Peng scratched his head. "It's understandable that the Egyptians want this thing. After all, Cleopatra VII is considered the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt. So why is Ivan getting involved with the Greeks?"
Pascal shrugged. "Cleopatra VII was from the Kingdom of Macedonia, and the majority of the Macedonian people were Greek. As for Ivan's interest in this, it's understandable. After all, in 1472, after Ivan III of Moscow married the Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologina, he always claimed to be the heir to the Eastern Roman Empire. Even today, Russia believes that their legal lineage comes from the Eastern Roman Empire and calls itself the 'Third Roman Empire.' But this is just self-aggrandizement."
After he said this, Xiao Peng came back to his senses. To this day, the Russian national emblem still has the "double-headed eagle" symbol of the Eastern Roman Empire, and on the eagle's head are three crowns symbolizing Peter the Great.
Marx once wrote: "Any illiterate Russian peasant knows that, besides St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia has a true capital, Constantinople, and that one day Russia will place a cross on the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople." The Russian-Turkish war is arguably the world's longest-running, and to this day, the two countries continue to fight each other.
However, it is estimated that Russia's idea of inserting a cross on the Hagia Sophia will never be realized.
Why do you say that?
Türkiye directly converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque!
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "Xiao Pa, please quickly take care of the gold issue. We are seriously short of money right now, and we feel insecure without it. Let them come to me after you've taken care of the gold!"
"Why wait until the gold is processed before letting them come to you?"
"I'm afraid I'll sell things too cheaply because I don't have enough money!"
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