"Oh my God, these little things are just too beautiful," William said as he shamelessly pocketed a ruby larger than an adult's fist, adding, "I thought finding one would be lucky enough, but I never expected God to give me a whole nest of gems.
"Sorry, but this ruby, which I'm naming the Devonshire Star, will definitely not be auctioned. It belongs only to the Devonshire family and, more specifically, to my mother, Lena Devonshire.
"To celebrate, I've decided to donate ten tons of Martian gold to the World Children's Fund and auction off five rubies from the rest of the collection."
"Ten tons of gold?"
Those who initially despised William for selling only five rubies fell silent.
Though everyone understood that gold meant little to William at this point, ten tons of gold, based on today's prices, was worth over $200 million.
While William was busy gathering up the ruby nest, Jessie, who was watching the live broadcast with Lena in the castle, suddenly spoke up.
"Madam, I think we should consider donating $200 million in cash instead and keep the ten tons of Martian gold."
Lena, still thrilled by the ruby and touched by the fact that her son thought of her even while on Mars, looked at Jessie in surprise. Abby, Selene, and Nyssa also turned to her with puzzled expressions.
Jessie straightened up slightly, speaking nervously, "When I used to run the streets of New York, I often heard about antique gold coins. Shouldn't we consider turning the first batch of Martian gold into commemorative coins? After all, this is humanity's first-ever batch of precious metals brought back from Mars."
"That's right, that's right," Abby exclaimed, suddenly realizing. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"The first batch of Martian gold turned into coins would definitely have enormous commemorative value," Abby said excitedly as she paced back and forth. But after a moment, she frowned. "The problem is, two spacecraft can bring back a hundred tons of gold. Even if we make large commemorative coins weighing 100 grams each, a hundred tons of gold would yield a million coins. That's way too many, and the value won't increase significantly."
"Not necessarily," Nyssa interjected. Being a wealthy vampire herself, she had sharper insights in certain areas than Abby. After a moment of thought, she added,
"At today's gold prices, a hundred tons is worth about $2 billion. Turning it into commemorative coins would immediately multiply its value several times over.
"We don't have to make just one type of coin. We could create different designs, like Mars Landing Commemorative Coins, Spaceship Coins, Devonshire Family Coins, Olympus Mons Coins... As long as we find the right themes, it's normal for the overall value to double or triple in just a few years.
"We could even publicly auction a few thousand coins to drum up interest. During this Mars craze, a 100-gram Martian gold coin, which has an intrinsic value of $2,000, could easily fetch a few hundred dollars more at auction. For the average middle-class buyer, that's no problem.
"Plus, we'll keep over 90% of the coins ourselves, so only about 100,000 will actually enter circulation. With the Mars hype, a limited circulation of 100,000 coins in multiple designs is not excessive but rather quite scarce."
Having only 20,000–30,000 coins per design in circulation would make them rare, not abundant.
Even though collectors might know the Devonshire family still holds 900,000 coins, would William ever lack money? Would he fall on hard times within a few years and be forced to sell his collection?
Realistically, those 900,000 coins wouldn't see the light of day until William's descendants, possibly several generations later.
It's like how everyone knows diamonds are massively overstocked—enough for every person on Earth to have one—yet diamond companies release only a small amount each year, keeping prices stable or rising.
Moreover, commemorative coins, unlike raw gold, have intrinsic collectible value and are far better at retaining value.
Given the current global Mars fever fueled by William, these coins would be incredibly valuable in circulation. Even with minimal promotion, a $2,000 coin could easily sell for $2,200.
Once the coins become scarce and secondary market trading heats up, their price will naturally skyrocket.
The second batch could sell for $2,500. Half a year later, $3,000 per coin wouldn't be a stretch.
Even if the coins fail to sell immediately, it's still $2 billion worth of "free" Martian gold, with the only real expense being processing costs. Keeping them for decades and selling them later would all but guarantee a profit.
After this analysis, William's four women and his mother quickly agreed the plan was feasible and far more meaningful than simply hoarding gold.
With these coins, the Devonshire family name would inevitably come up in conversation—alongside William and Lena Devonshire—whenever people discussed Mars or its history.
Lena decisively announced, "Let's mint 100,000 Devonshire Family Coins. The design will feature our family's stag crest on the front and the castle on the back."
"Understood, Madam."
After the four women exchanged glances, one of them suggested, "Should we also make a batch featuring your portrait?"
"No, absolutely not. I don't want to be mocked," Lena replied with self-awareness. "Use William's portrait instead for the Grand Duke Devonshire Coins. After all, he holds the hereditary title. My face on a coin? That's just not a good idea."
Abby, well-versed in European coin history, was relieved but quickly added with a sly glint in her eye, "Then how about making just 10,000 coins as a family keepsake?
"Someday, maybe hundreds of years later, these limited-edition Lady Lena Coins, with only 10,000 minted, might be the most valuable collectibles of all."
"Haha!" Lena laughed, delighted. It wasn't out of the question.
While other coins would have mintages of at least 100,000, her limited edition might hold unparalleled value as the smallest run. Despite her lack of fame compared to her son, her role as the mother of a notable figure and the exclusivity of the coins would make them highly coveted.
Though she claimed she didn't want to be mocked, who would refuse to leave their mark on history? Smiling brightly, she agreed, "Fine. William doesn't lack gold or money, so let's make some for me to enjoy privately."
As she thought further, she noticed Abby's eager expression but pretended not to see it.
As William's mother, even she hesitated to put her own portrait on coins. If the family dared mint coins featuring William's women, they'd be ridiculed for generations—and might even go down in noble history as a laughingstock.
Abby, reading Lena's expression, realized her idea wouldn't fly. In the aristocratic hierarchy, the gap between a noble wife and a mistress was as vast as the distance between Earth and Mars.
Still, Abby maintained her composure and perked up, addressing the AI system, "Sunday, did you hear our conversation just now?"
The voice of Sunday, the AI system, immediately responded in the castle's living room, "Yes, Miss Abigail. Do you have any instructions?"
"Since you heard, relay this idea to William. He's bound to come up with something even better."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]
[Use Code D8986 for 33% Off on All Tiers — Valid Until October 5th]