Tang Yi opened the paper shell slightly and took out the envelope. Then I smeared it with solid glue and glued it again, and after thinking about it, I took a table lamp and pressed it on it.

"I'm convinced." Lin Huanting picked up the envelope when Tang Yi was busy. The envelope was not large, less than twenty centimeters long and no more than ten centimeters wide.

There is a long red box in the center of the front with a red letter "Qi" printed on the bottom of the box. At the top of the right side of the box is a word "send", and at the bottom is the word "hand". The left side of the box is blank.

It is not difficult to see from the format of this envelope that it should be read from right to left, and sent "such and such a place" to "such and such a person" to open.

Judging from the format and paper, this should be something from the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. However, the book is a 1948 edition, which means that the envelope is older than the book. This is not difficult to understand, since it is hidden in a special era, it should be something older, otherwise there is no need to be afraid of being "broken four old".

The envelope was a printed envelope, but it was not written, it was not stamped, and it was a blank new envelope.

"It seems that the contents of this envelope are very precious!" Lin Huanting said on the side, and handed the envelope to Tang Yi again, "You found it, satisfy you, you can open it and take a look." ”

Tang Yi nodded, the envelope was not sealed with glue, but just folded and sealed. After opening it, Tang Yi took out an orange thing from it.

It is actually an orange fifteen-square dragon stamp "five-cent silver"! Or a "broad-sided dragon"!

There are five pieces in each row, a total of three rows, and there are also edge papers on both sides. It looks very well preserved, even the adhesive backing, is in good condition.

This dragon stamp is very famous, and people who do not collect stamps also know that this is the first set of stamps issued in China, issued in 1878 at the end of the Qing Dynasty. This set of three stamps features a five-clawed dragon set against clouds and waves. However, the colors and denominations of these three pieces are different.

The face value is calculated in silver taels, one part silver-green, three parts silver-red, and five parts silver-orange-yellow. Interestingly, the first set of stamps issued by the Qing Dynasty government was not issued by the postal department, but by the customs on a trial basis. At that time, the customs were controlled by foreigners, so the word "customs" was written in English at the bottom of the stamp design.

"This big dragon stamp, I remember that my grandfather had a set, three, that is, I bought it two years ago, it seems to be more than 10,000. Although you have fifteen pieces together, there is only one, and it is not a set, so it shouldn't be very valuable, right? Although Lin Huanting knows about the Dalong stamps, the specific classification and varieties are not clear.

"Even if these fifteen pieces are only worth 10,000, we will earn them?" Tang Yi deliberately said very seriously.

Lin Huanting looked at Tang Yi carefully, "Okay, don't pretend, others don't know, I don't know you yet." Come on, where is the value of these fifteen party companies?! As he spoke, his eyebrows stood upside down.

Tang Yi collected stamps when he was a child, and the most important thing is that he knows the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties very well. And this study of history, the "first" in the historical facts pay special attention, this dragon stamp is the first set of stamps issued in China, so he does know very comprehensively.

"The Great Dragon stamps of the Qing Dynasty have a total of three editions. The first edition was printed and distributed between 1878 and 1882, and the paper was thin and even a little transparent, so it was also called the thin paper dragon. Qin Lao's collection, I'm afraid it is this set, this set of the largest printing, so the price is relatively cheap, but the stamps are not as good as antiques, more than 10,000 sets, it is not low. ”

"The second edition was printed in 1882, and this edition was a bit more complicated, because the amount of silver printed was different, and the paper used was different. Among them, the orange five-part silver has the least amount of print, and it is made of French onion paper, which is relatively brittle and difficult to preserve. In this version of the pattern, the distance between the border and the perforation of the figure has been widened, so it is called a wide-edged dragon. ”

Lin Huanting didn't wait for Tang Yi to finish speaking, and happily interjected: "I know, this fifteen square company is a broad-sided dragon five-cent silver, which is the least surviving variety, and it must be very valuable!" ”

"That's right." Tang Yi smiled helplessly, "Can't you let me fully display my knowledge reserves and finish the third edition?" ”

Lin Huanting pushed Tang Yi, "Go on!" ”

"This third edition, called Thick Paper Dragon, was printed from 1883 to 1885, and needless to say, the paper is thicker." Tang Yi stretched out his hand, "It's over!" ”

Lin Huanting also deliberately paused for a while, seeing Tang Yi's lips open, then she laughed, "Okay, I can't hold it back, right?" Don't pretend, hurry up and say how precious this broad-sided dragon is five-cent silver! ”

Tang Yi originally wanted to be tense, but was exposed by Lin Huanting, so he had to continue: "When the wide-sided dragon was issued, it was just in time for the sharp increase in mail, and the demand for stamps was very large. So the most used cents of silver were printed first, and then another penny of silver. When it was time to print five cents of silver, the paper used in front of it was gone, and finally 20,000 pieces were printed on this onion paper. ”

"What is the concept of 20,000? At that time, a full-page sheet was five by five, twenty-five. 20,000 pieces, that is, only 800 full-page sheets were printed. Moreover, this wide-sided dragon yellow five points not only printed less, but also sold out quickly, and it took nine months to sell out. ”

"It's been more than 100 years, so few prints, so many people use them, and paper is still so difficult to preserve. So the question is, now, how many of the brand-new and unused broad-sided dragons are still in existence? Tang Yi suddenly looked at Lin Huanting and asked.

"Don't sell it! Say it! Lin Huanting was listening to it, and when she saw Tang Yi stopping, she hurriedly urged.

Tang Yi scratched his head, but this time he didn't pretend, and said truthfully: "Actually, I don't know." Let's spend a while! ”

"Cut!" Lin Huanting glanced at him and took out her mobile phone to surf the Internet.

"I can't rely on this, I know the history. Now that I don't pay attention to stamps, how do I know? Seeing that Lin Huanting clicked on the webpage, Tang Yi leaned his head up.

I checked two authoritative stamp websites and two well-known forums, and basically said that there are only about 100 in existence.

Moreover, this wide-sided dragon yellow five points, the whole page of stamps that have survived in the world, there is only one unique piece. As early as 1991, this one-of-a-kind piece was auctioned in the United Kingdom and sold for a high price of 374,000 pounds, which translates to about 4 million.

You know, this was in 1991! More than 20 years have passed, and many things that were millions of dollars back then have been priced at tens of millions now!

"Now a broad-sided dragon orange five-cent silver, in good condition, the market price is generally more than 100,000, if you calculate it like this, your fifteen square companies are about two million." Lin Huanting calculated according to the information she had.

Tang Yi smiled and shook his head, "Account, it's not like that・・・・・・"