Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1527: Chapter 1511: The Ancient Coin Golden Key

After lunch, Huo Sining suddenly remembered what Zhong Zifan had mentioned earlier in the arena warehouse about their trip back to the Magic Capital. She casually asked: ”Didn’t you say you were going back to the Magic Capital to pick up something from a friend? What is it?”

Liao Song couldn’t help but chuckle upon hearing this: ”Hey, I almost forgot, you’re an expert in antique appraisal. Perfect timing, you can come with us to take a look, I assure you it’s a rare treasure!”

Huo Sining felt intrigued upon hearing this: ”What exactly is it, being so mysterious, and you even flew all the way back from Min City for it?”

Liao Song and Zhong Zifan exchanged a glance and chuckled:

”Actually, the two of us are amateurs; we don’t know much about your field of antiques. I’m more interested in porcelain, but I met some friends who are collectors years ago. They dabble in various collections, and this time we’re visiting a friend who opened a shop on Antique Street and occasionally brings in items from other places.”

With that, Liao Song took a sip of tea and looked at Huo Sining: ”Miss Huo, have you heard of the National Treasure Jin Kui?”

Huo Sining was suddenly taken aback, her expression subtly changing. After a few seconds of silence, she replied: ”With the mysterious square-hole Kun-Dui compass, eternal river seeking ancient springs, fleeting Xin dynasty, National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan—a Big Brother Liao, are you referring to this National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan?”

Liao Song nodded.

A flash of astonishment passed through Huo Sining’s eyes: ”This thing I’ve only read about in books. I know the Huaxia Historical Museum has one, and it’s said there are currently only two and a half in existence, making it truly a national treasure-class rare collection. But as for what it specifically looks like, I haven’t seen it myself and am unclear. Could it be that the item your friend wants to show you is...”

Before Huo Sining could finish her sentence, Liao Song nodded, interrupting her train of thought.

”He said he acquired a few of them, but isn’t sure if they’re genuine, so he contacted some veteran experts to help authenticate the items at his shop today. We’ve never seen one before; hearing how precious they are, we rushed back eagerly just to witness it firsthand.”

For other items, Huo Sining might not have been interested. Currently, her heart is more concerned with the artifacts beyond the nation’s borders; ordinary trinkets no longer appeal to her.

But this National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan, this was indeed the first time Huo Sining had heard of it in real life, stirring uncontainable curiosity within her.

Huo Sining knew about the National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan after once purchasing a square-holed coin by chance. Unable to decipher the coin’s copper-casted characters, she researched it, inadvertently uncovering some obscure and esoteric knowledge about ancient coins.

The so-called National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan is a coin from the Xin Dynasty during Wang Mang’s time.

Wang Mang was an essential member of the Wang family, a foreign relative of the Western Han. At the Western Han’s end, court and public turmoil led Wang Mang to overthrow Han, establish Xin, and implement new policies.

The National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan was one of the coins from Wang Mang’s time.

Coins from the Xin Dynasty were beautifully inscribed, expertly cast, and uniquely designed, such as Daquan Wushi and Yidaoping Wushi, famous precious coins often starting at millions in auctions.

However, the most mysterious has to be the ”National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan,” a coin with a unique structure: the upper part in the form of a round coin with a square hole, inscribed with ”National Treasure Jin Kui” in needle script. The lower part is square, with two vertical ridges inside, and the middle directly inscribed with ”Zhi Wan” in needle script, topped with the words ”Heavenly Mansion,” with a smooth surface, and the back top inscribed with ”Toad Palace.”

The ”National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan” is one of the most renowned ancient coins in China and, due to its limited current existence of only two and a half, also known as one of the fifty famous ancient coins of Huaxia.

Ancient coins, known as Huaxia’s ancient money, the ”National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan” was purported as currency for gold exchange. Additionally, the coin resembles a key, earning the nickname ”Golden Key” among the fifty famous ancient coins of Huaxia.

The term ”National Treasure Jin Kui” actually refers to the coin’s name, similar to ancient tags on circulating coins, and ”Zhi Wan” denotes the coin’s denomination, implying a value of ten thousand, i.e., one coin equates to ten thousand gold.

This coin is unique, reportedly issued by the government during Wang Mang’s Xin Dynasty, which had a monetary system known as ”Golden Currency Quality” established, where one pound of gold equaled ten thousand common coins collected from civilians for state ownership, and the National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan served as a redemption certificate issued to those contributing gold, allowing the exchange of equivalent gold.

However, this theory remains speculation since the National Treasure Jin Kui was not a circulating currency, and the Xin Dynasty was one of Huaxia’s briefest eras, enduring only sixteen years, preventing the National Treasure Jin Kui from officially entering circulation before its demise.

For this reason, these coins were produced in extremely limited quantities, and after two thousand years, those remaining are exceptionally scarce.

According to historical records, in the 27th year of Guangxu, a farmer from Xi’an unexpectedly unearthed two such coins in the fields; one was acquired by a domestic ancient coin collector, and the other was bought by an Englishman, thus leaving the country. Eventually, the domestically retained coin was procured by the government at a high price and housed in the Huaxia Historical Museum after several transits.

Later, during domestic grave excavations, half a coin was unearthed, but only the ”National Treasure Jin Kui” square-hole round top part remained; the ”Zhi Wan” rectangular lower part was missing.

Due to the minimal minting and surviving quantities, speculation and debate over the ”National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan” have persisted in the ancient coin community for ages.

Precisely for this reason, Huo Sining was quite skeptical about the ”National Treasure Jin Kui Zhi Wan” that this friend of Liao Song’s claimed to possess.

On one hand, she doubted such an item truly existed in the market—if the ”National Treasure Jin Kui” were easily obtainable, how could it still be considered the golden key among the famous ancient coins?

Yet, on the other hand, Huo Sining retained some hope; antiques are quite mystical, and given the extensive historical shifts, no one could definitively declare otherwise. Within the antique community, instances occur where items long thought lost suddenly resurface.

So, with the mindset of seeing-is-believing, she felt she had to ascertain with her own eyes to determine whether the coin is authentic.