Due to historical reasons, many cultural relics on the mainland have been preserved and scattered everywhere. Due to the huge number, many times we cannot rely solely on archaeologists to excavate, but more on the help of the masses. Four children in Jiangsu found several pieces of "chocolate" when they played by the river, which resembled chocolate in appearance, but were actually cultural relics from thousands of years ago, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
1. Children dig up "chocolate" by the river
On a hot summer day in 2007, four children in Dafeng City, Jiangsu Province, herded sheep by the river. Because of the hot weather, children can only walk by the river and rely on playing in the river to cool down. Suddenly, a child found that there were several golden things in the water, and out of curiosity, he quickly called out to his friends and called a bunch of friends to come and check it out. After all, the children's cognition is limited, they don't know what this pile of golden stones on the riverbed is, but they just feel like a snack of "gold coin chocolate" that was specially eaten at that time.
The four children observed around these golden stones together, and finally did not observe a reason, so they took them home to their parents to check. At first, when the children discovered these golden sparkles, they did not eat chocolates, but just played with them as toys. But the experience of the adults is rich, and at a glance, they can see that these golden stones are worth a lot, and they are likely to be gold nuggets. So the adults asked their children the specific location of the "gold coin chocolate" and rushed to "dig for gold" in an attempt to make a direct fortune from it.
In the process of several parents "digging for gold", I don't know who missed the wind, and more and more people came to dig for gold. From the first few children, to the parents of the children later, and finally to the exaggeration that the whole village came to "dig for gold". Upon hearing the news, the villagers flocked to it and soon dug out all the gold, twenty-one pieces in all, most of them circular or square, with some markings engraved on them.
Two, 2,500 years ago
The news that a lot of gold had been dug up by the river did not go away, and the cultural relics dealers also heard the news, so they rushed to buy it. The cultural relics dealers gave a very high price, hoping to buy the gold, and the villagers gradually began to be impressed. Just when the villagers were wavering and did not decide whether to sell the gold nuggets, some villagers who also went to "dig for gold" but did not grab the gold felt unfair, so they began to make trouble, alarming the local public security department.
Based on the villagers' descriptions, the cultural relics protection agency determined that these "gold coin chocolates" may not be simple gold, but relics from thousands of years ago. After the specific investigation of local cultural relics experts in the laboratory, it was found that the gold content of these gold nuggets was as high as more than 80%, which was of high value in ancient times, and it was also printed with strange patterns and patterns. These confused the local cultural relics experts, so they handed them over to the Nanjing Cultural Relics Bureau for further verification.
After verification by authoritative experts from the Nanjing Cultural Relics Bureau, it was found that these gold nuggets may have been the currency "Yin Ai" circulating in the Chu state during the Warring States period 2,500 years ago. "郢" is the name of the Chu state, "love" is a unit of measurement, because the unearthed part of the gold coins are usually engraved with the word "Yin Ai", so it is also called "Yin Ai". The twenty-one gold coins found in Dafeng City, Jiangsu Province, vary in size, weighing a total of about 200 grams and containing extremely high gold.
Experts through the review of ancient books and related materials found that gold in the Warring States period is a very rare item, this currency is not available to everyone, most of them are nobles or high-ranking officials can use, ordinary people are difficult to have in their homes. "Yin Ai" was often used as a gift between countries, or as a reward from a monarch to a nobleman who had made outstanding contributions.
Through expert research, this batch of excavated "Yin Ai" has a history of 2,500 years, the mainland has found the earliest gold currency that has flowed through, and it is also the first batch of gold coins of the Chu state in the Warring States period unearthed in Dafeng City, Jiangsu Province, filling the gap in the history of jiangsu in the Warring States period, has a high historical value, and has been identified as a national first-class cultural relic.
Third, cultural relics worth hundreds of millions of dollars
"Yin Ai" is the currency used by the Chu state in circulation during the Warring States period, mostly in the shape of square gold plates, and rarely in the form of round gold nuggets. The unearthed "Yin Ai" is also mostly square, with some cutting marks, and is produced in a round shape and is cut for convenience when circulating. And this kind of currency often circulated among the nobility, although the circulation range is small, but it is also the earliest currency found so far, which has a certain pioneering significance.
"Yin Ai" originally circulated only in the Chu state, which was rich in gold due to topographical and geological reasons, so gold was made into a circulating currency. According to research, with the continuous increase of the power of the Chu state, the scope of use of "Yin Ai" has gradually expanded, and today's Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang and other places are the circulation areas of this currency, and this currency has witnessed historical changes to a certain extent.
Not only that, "Yin Ai" is made of gold, which can represent the ancient metallurgical technology of the mainland to a certain extent. And it confirms that gold has a certain collection value since ancient times, and gold and silver investment is a particularly stable form of financial management. Regardless of historical factors, the gold material of "Yin Ai" itself has a certain collection value, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to our understanding and further research of "Yin Ai", the circulation value and chronological significance of these gold nuggets have long exceeded their own value. The value of these nuggets can be seen through the various information found, so experts believe that these nuggets are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. "Yin Ai" has a high collection value, historical and cultural value, and is worth protecting by the cultural relics department.
Many people wonder why so many artifacts are found by the river. Experts believe that this land was a salt making plant in ancient times, and no large cemeteries have been found around, and the cemeteries of ordinary people in ancient times will not have so many "noble articles", so the "Yin Ai" found by the river this time may be used for sacrifice. Due to its age, the site of worship has long since disappeared, so it is difficult to conduct subsequent examinations.
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