Treasure Hunt America

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Now the New Zealanders have long been driven out of these buildings, replaced by a variety of branded stores, expensive perfume stores, furniture stores, antique stores, galleries, thrift stores, mainly rich European immigrants. New and used bookstores, restaurants and cafes.

The citybarn antique store that Fang Bo introduced to Jin Muchen is located on the corner of 53rd Street, in the southern end of SOHO District.

The owner, Rick, is an old man of the same age as Fang Bo. He is in his fifties. He is not tall, but he is very stout. His face is covered with traces of the wind and frost of the years. With gray hair and beard, he looks like an artist. .

The scale of his store is not very large, with only one floor and an operating area of ​​more than 150 square meters.

When Jin Muchen arrived here, Rick was dealing with a black young man.

The black young man was holding a stone Buddha head in his hand and was introducing old Rick.

"My dad brought it back from Vietnam. My dad was in B Company of the 101st Division. When they were attacking Ho Chi Minh City, he found this thing in a temple and brought it from Vietnam. return......"

The black young man introduced it very seriously. Jin Muchen didn't interrupt him, but looked at the Buddha's head in his hand. To be honest, it was really interesting to see such a stone-carved Buddha's head here.

But after only two glances, Jin Muchen denied the black man's statement, because he stared at the Buddha's head for a long time, and there was no jewels on the Buddha's head.

According to his previous experience, this Buddha head must be fake, and this guy should obviously be making up a story.

There is a story behind every antique, but some stories are true, while others are false, and most of the false stories are accompanied by false antiques.

However, Jin Muchen didn't dismantle him, because he felt that an old player in the antique world like Rick would definitely be able to determine the authenticity of this thing.

But looking at the gray-bearded old man across from him, at this time, he listened intently, and his eyes kept circling on the Buddha's head.

After the black youth finished speaking, this Rick nodded.

"Well, young man, how much are you going to buy!"

The black youth immediately became very excited when he heard this: "Sir, you are really a knowledgeable person. I have gone to several antique stores before, but they all said this is fake. But I don't believe it, my father definitely doesn't. will tell lies to me."

"Okay, young man, I understand, tell me a price!"

Rick interrupted the young man and said.

"Well... eight hundred... no, five hundred dollars..."

"Okay, I'll give you three hundred dollars!"

Rick actually wants to buy fakes? The expression on Jin Muchen's face was a little surprised, considering that this guy is a friend of Uncle Fang, and he may not be very proficient in Asian antiques, so Jin Muchen wanted to remind him.

But as soon as the words came to his mouth, he saw the strange eyes swept over by old Rick, and then Jin Muchen chose to shut his mouth.

"make a deal!"

The black young man had a bright smile on his face, while old Rick counted three bills from the drawer and took it to the black man's hand. The black young man walked out of the antique shop with a happy expression.

"Are you Lao Fang's nephew?"

"Yes, hello Mr. Rick, nice to meet you. My name is Jin Muchen."

"Hello, Mu Chen, it's nice to meet you too."

Rick stretched out his hand and gave Jin Muchen a firm grip. This guy's palms were full of calluses, especially the belly of the index finger and the tiger's mouth.

Jin Muchen's heart froze, this is a hand that often holds a gun.

Rick didn't rush to talk to Jin Muchen, but looked at the stone Buddha's head placed on the counter, reached out and touched it, and finally he placed the Buddha's head in the window at the door.

Jin Muchen couldn't help but be stunned when he saw it. He knew the rules of these antique shops. Generally, less valuable items were placed outside to attract customers. The real good items were kept in the safe at the back.

Obviously this Rick knew that this thing was fake, but why did he sell it?

"This thing is in the duty-free shop near the airport in Thailand, which is ten dollars apiece."

Rick got up without looking at Jin Muchen and muttered, Jin Muchen couldn't help asking.

"Then you know it's fake, why do you still buy it?"

"Hey, boy, because I also served in the 101st division, because I also went to Vietnam, and most importantly, because I am also a father."

When Rick said this, Jin Muchen was relieved. It seemed that he couldn't bear to destroy the image of the black young man's father in his heart.

Maybe the black youth's father didn't get any trophies in Vietnam, but just bought such a Buddha head near an airport before returning home. It was a gift for his son, and it must be accompanied by a beautiful story.

Thinking of this, Jin Muchen has determined that this Rick is definitely a good person.

"Okay, boy, listen to Lao Fang, you have received some things, but you are not sure, so you want me to help?"

"Yes, these are the three tea sets I collected, but I'm not sure about the specific origins of these tea sets, so I want you to help."

Jin Muchen didn't have any ink, and directly took out the three tea sets from the backpack behind him and placed them in front of Rick.

Three tea sets, one or two items, Rick's eyes lit up immediately. He took out a pair of eyes from under the counter, and then took out a magnifying glass and a tape measure.

He first put the three pots in his hands and cushioned them, then opened the mouth of the pot and looked inside carefully for a long time, and finally reached out and started to tap the pot, and then listened to the echo of the pot body.

The voice was crisp and distant, and then Rick nodded.

"Well, it uses 950 silver, which is of good purity. Now we need to give him a medical examination."

As he said that, he pulled an electronic scale from the side and put the three tea sets on it and weighed them one by one.

"The teapot is 789 grams, the coffee pot is 885 grams, the sugar bowl is 561 grams, and the total weight is 2,235 grams. The weight is also good, and the materials are very solid. Now I will measure them."

After Rick finished speaking, he picked up the tape measure and began to take precise measurements on the three tea sets.

"The height of the teapot is 210mm, the height of the pot to the handle is 240mm, the diameter of the body is 160mm, the height of the coffee pot is 280mm, the height of the pot is 235mm, the diameter of the body is 140mm, the height of the sugar bowl is 160mm, and the distance between the two ears is 190mm. , the diameter of the can body is 140 mm. The shape is unique, the square handle teapot. The decoration is exquisite, the workmanship is exquisite, the material is thick, and the product is in good condition! The sugar jar is gilded. Good stuff, good stuff!"

The old man muttered while giving these teapots and sugar bowls a medical examination.

Jin Muchen next to him listened, and his heart blossomed with joy. It seemed that this time the leak was definitely not running away.

"Well, the rest is to look at the silver stamp, the mark."

As the old man said, he turned the pots over, and then began to look around. The lid of the pot was carefully inspected, and the bottom of the pot was exposed, and then he used a magnifying glass to carefully identify the flowers at the bottom of the pot. Signature in French.

Finally, he put down the pots with a solemn face, turned his head and said to Jin Muchen.

"Young man, these things of yours are really good. I heard from Lao Fang that you received them from 39th Street?"

"Yes, just yesterday, I just thought these pots were beautiful, so I took them down. But I don't know exactly what these pots are, so I came to ask you today."

Jin Muchen's humble attitude is very useful to Rick. After all, there are not many young people with a low-key or even a little simple like Jin Muchen this year, especially at this age, he has such eyesight, and he also likes to specialize in antiques of.

"Haha, well, boy, I have to say that your luck is really good, this should be a set of exquisite French 950 sterling silver tea sets from 1882, and the author is also a very famous French silversmith, Fleuret, Fran?ois, you see There is also his signature on the bottom of the pot. Fleuret, François was one of the most famous silversmiths in France in which era. At that time, he mainly served the royal family and nobles in Paris. Now there are many handed down works, which are also displayed In the Palace of Fontainebleau. Your set should be the work he created for a nobleman back then. Unfortunately, the nobleman's name is not signed~www.readwn.com~ Otherwise, you will know about this tea set. If it is passed down, it will be more valuable.”

Rick's words made Jin Muchen happy, and he didn't care about Fleuret, François, anyway, as long as the tea set in front of him was more valuable, the better.

"However, although I don't know the inheritance, it doesn't matter. After all, this tea set can be regarded as the pinnacle of Fleuret and François. There are five most important techniques for making silverware, namely hammering, chiseling, tickling, filigree, Burning blue, in addition to the filigree, you can say that this tea set has all four major craftsmanship, and many craftsmanship make this tea set show a very rich sense of light and shadow, which is the charm of this tea set.”

Rick was still eloquently introducing the origin and value of this tea set to Jin Muchen, but Jin Muchen finally couldn't hold back and fell into the rut.

"Mr. Narik, how much do you think this tea set should be worth?"

"Um..."

Old Rick touched the white beard on his chin and didn't answer in a hurry. After a while, he said this.

"But after all, this is not Victorian style silverware. Mu Chen, you know that the mainstream choice for silverware collection is British style, especially the Victorian era, so although your set of silverware is very beautiful, the price is more convenient than in those days. The tea set in the UK is still a lot worse, if I accept it, I can give you $30,000!"

I went, it only cost 1500 yuan when I received it, and now I can sell it for 30000 yuan, which is 20 times the huge profit!