Who: Dex Kessinger, Aloysius Parkinson, and Arabella Ward What: Investigating the mystery coin When: Friday, 17 November 1888 Where: Parkinson LLC in London Warnings: None significant
Lou had been pleased that Dex Kessinger had agreed to meet him and Arabella to look at the mysterious coin she'd brought Lou so easily. He'd set up a time for the meeting with Dex and asked Arabella to join them; she did have the other key to the lockbox the coin was in, after all.
Once he'd brought them down to the vault room where the lockboxes were all stored, Lou pulled the correct box out and set it on a table. He gestured to Arabella that it was time for her to use her key, and then unlocked his part of the box with his own.
Arabella was far more interested in the mysterious and anonymous gentleman whom Mr Parkinson had invited to inspect her troublesome coin, and whom she recognized from the masquerade as Poseidon, God of the Sea. A key was nothing compared to a giant brought in secret to a vault by a discreet banker.
"Are you from the treasury?" she asked frankly, deciding that if they were not going to quibble with introductions, she would skip to the more relevant questions. Cocking her head, she decided, "You don't look like someone from the treasury."
Dex was in some wonder that he was even here, though when he was asked to come he had no hesitations in saying yes. He collected wonderful and strange things, old things, items that aged from the dawn of time to now, from vases to sculptures to coins, he collected it all. Word of an unusual coin, he definitely wanted to see.
He’d moved with a quietness through the building to the vault room, though he was sure there were strange looks from those as the giant moved with the petite woman he had remembered from the Masquerade party but had never gotten her name, and Mr. Parkinson.
Once in the room, he stood quietly with hands clasped behind his back as he looked on, watching as Mr. Parkinson and the woman unlock the box. When the woman spoke to him, he offered a smile and gave a small shake of his head. “No,” he answered her. “I am more of an...interested party I suppose and was asked to be here,” he glanced at Mr. Parkinson to see if had any more to add.
Lou had chased everyone else out so he and Arabella and Dex were alone. He had not, in fact, been clear to Dex on why he'd asked him to look at the coin, only saying that he thought it was important and would make his explanations when Dex had a chance to look at it. "This coin, you see, it's a bit odd, Mr. Kessinger. According to the coin registries of Her Majesty's government, the issue was withdrawn. But it's made of some unknown material that Miss Ward can't identify and it was handed to her as coinage. I thought of you both because of your expertise--" both as a historian and a dragon, but Lou was too polite to say so "--and because if it is some kind of counterfeit, or there's something otherwise wrong with the coin, like tampering, you're in a good position to know what to do and how to report this without any of the negative consequences that might ensue if it were publicly known."
Dex gave a small nod to Lou and then glanced at the woman. “That is why I’m here,” he offered a small smile. “Is what he says correct, Miss?” He questioned. “The coin is out of circulation, was withdrawn and yet it was handed to you in an exchange of monies?” This was sounding rather interesting. “If it’s made from something other than what coins are made of, I’d instantly say it’s a counterfeit, but do you both feel differently?”
"It contains a substance or compound that is not metal," Arabella answered, because the facts of the matter in scientific terms were simpler than Mr Parkinson's tangle of registries and tampering. "One that looks as though it is created through natural wear and oxidation, but behaves in no way organic to the alloys used for coin metals. That was my concern. Mr Parkinson has another, which is the counterfeiting."
She studied this 'Mr Kessinger'. "Are you an expert in coin metals, sir?" It would explain his practical choice of aluminum for his trident at the masquerade.
“No, I am not,” Dex answered her honestly. “I know...enough,” he then gave. He had been around long enough to learn things, but he was by far an expert. “I’m an archaeologist, however, and am an expert in that,” he looked from her to Lou. “Mr. Parkinson, if you asked me here, you must not be completely sure that it’s counterfeit. Have you compared it to any of the pieces that were pulled? Or are there none at all?” He glanced back to the woman. “And if your concern isn’t counterfeit, then what is it? And would you mind if I touch the piece to get a good look for myself?”
"I think it very strange if a coin of this nature was minted and withdrawn from circulation, or never distributed, Mr Kessinger. And if it never was distributed, how did it come into Miss Ward's hands?" Lou gestured in Arabella's direction. "I don't expect modern coin minting to be in your area of expertise as an archaeologist, sir, but surely this is extremely unusual. And I don't have a physical sample but I have a copy of the issue book." Which he'd brought with him and marked so he could open it to the correct page to show to Dex. "There's nothing about anything like this coin."
"I've taken a sample already," Arabella contributed, newly-intrigued by the title of 'archaeologist'. "You may collect more if you like." Belatedly, she moved to insert her key and finish opening the box so that Mr Kessinger could inspect the subject of their interest.
"You will have studied long-term effects of the elements on metal alloys more than I have, but I don't believe that even accelerated oxidation could account for the wear on this coin." Arabella looked inside to be certain the coin was, indeed, still oozing its mysterious substance, and then stepped back to make room for Mr Kessinger.
“Stranger things have happened,” Dex said off hand. Yes the coin had been minted and then pulled, and now here it was in circulation, but stranger things had, indeed, happen. “Is it possible it was stolen from wherever they hold the ones they made but not put out?” But why? Why would someone do that? “Yes, I’d like to see the book,” he murmured as the box was opened and he was able to finally see the coin. He frowned. The wear on it was not normal, at least not to what he knew. He started to reach for the coin, to handle it, but something had him pausing just inches away from it. He slowly pulled his hand back and then reached into his pocket for his gloves and pulled them on. It’s...not a coin,” he shook his head and reached for the item again, holding it carefully and lifting it to his nose. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, again frowning. “It’s not anything that I know,” he murmured. “But, then there is something that I find familiar, like maybe there is something in it that I do know,” but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
“How long as it supposedly been in circulation? The way this looks, it’s extremely old. Coins don’t wear like this, it takes...centuries I would think.”
"It was minted last year," Lou explained. "And I couldn't have said how old I thought it was, but, yes, it's got too much wear on it."
While Dex examined the coin, Lou brought out the book and set it on a nearby table, open to the same page he'd been examining. "You'll see here that it was never supposed to be released at all."
“A year? It’s only a year old?” Dex asked with surprise and wonder. This coin was something else entirely. He gently laid the coin back in the box and then looked at the book when Lou brought it out and opened to the page. “This is all very intriguing,” he murmured. “I don’t know what to tell either of you except that whatever it is,” he looked up from the book. “It’s not an actual coin. Not in the traditional sense. If it was never supposed to be released, then it’s because of this,” he pointing to the wearing of it. “Something happened when it was minted. I need to do some research, dive into some archives, see if there are any notes that were kept when this was made. I may know of one or two that will talk with me.”
"I didn't know what to do with it, exactly, Mr Kessinger, but I was sure you'd have a better idea than I would, and could, if you needed to, call in other experts. If someone is trying to destablise the coinage with this, whatever it is, it's definitely above my pay grade." Lou was a bit relieved that Dex had some idea of what to do, and agreed that it was as extraordinary as Lou thought it was. "And I also worry that if whoever had the coin wasn't meant to let it loose, that there might be some pursuit of it." He looked at Arabella to indicate who might be troubled by that pursuit.
“I’ll talk to some, see if I can’t get a lead on it for you,” Dex said. “Do you have something I could collect a sample with? I’ve got scientists on my side that could test it and see if we can’t figure out what it’s made with.”
"Of course," Lou said, because he was ready for this question. He had a drawer piece of the sort they used to store jewelry in vaults ready with sample bags made of wax paper and similar supplies that Dex might need. "I'm anxious to get to the bottom of this, so please let me know of any further assistance I can offer with your experts."
Dex took his sample, taking care to not take too much but enough so that it could be tested properly. “I’ll get with my people as soon as possible and I’ll tell them to direct questions I can’t answer to you,” he said with a nod to them both. “Now if you will excuse me, Mr. Parkinson, Miss. Ward, I’ve got a son to get back to,” he smiled. “I’ll be in contact soon.”