As soon as he entered the shop, Leonard could feel a familiar sensation coming right at him.
Because he had been dealing with Pierce's antique shop before, Leonard quickly noticed that the style of this antique shop looked very similar to Pierce's shop, only with a higher grade of merchandise.
Unlike Pierce's approach, the old man who looked like a butler with a monocle behind the counter did not greet customers. Instead, he quietly waited behind the counter for customers to make their selections.
However, this was fine for Leonard since he now needed a quiet environment to test his abilities.
In this shop, to touch items in the glass cabinets, one would have to ask the owner to take them out. Items outside the cabinets were allowed to be touched by customers.
However, after touching most of the items outside the cabinets, Leonard found that no changes were happening to the cards in his knowledge sea.
"Is it because the level of these items is not enough, these items don't belong to me, or am I completely wrong?" After finding no changes, Leonard furrowed his brows and began to think.
However, he quickly decided to try another approach - picking one or two items to buy and test his theory.
Five thousand pounds in cash is not a small amount for ordinary people, but it can be easily spent in such a place. In order to collect as many different types of samples as possible, Leonard quickly came to the outermost rack of the shop.
Most of the items on this rack seemed unimpressive, with some even damaged.
"The items on the rack are more suitable for beginners in collecting." Seeing Leonard walking over to the rack after touring the store, the shopkeeper finally spoke.
"Mainly, those are antiques with poor appearance and overall low value. In addition, there are also modern crafts. Although they are not necessarily good items, they are enough for beginners in this field."
Possibly because of Leonard's age and his silence while shopping, as well as constantly reaching out to touch the antiques that were allowed to be touched, the shopkeeper believed he was a cash-strapped antique enthusiast.
"Thank you!" Leonard nodded slightly to express his gratitude for the shop owner's explanation, then turned his head to carefully examine the antiques on the rack. Soon, he noticed a string of gray-looking glass beads that seemed interesting.
After silently noting the string of beads, he continued searching on the rack. Half an hour later, Leonard took the five selected items, including the beads, to the counter to pay.
"An Athenian 1 Drachma Silver Coin, 107 pounds. A 19th century 80s Cambridge University Library card, 20 pounds. A corroded Medieval spearhead, 15 pounds. An African style trade bead necklace, 600 pounds. A Congo ritual statue, 120 pounds."
After counting the items, the shopkeeper took out a calculator, pressed a few buttons, then looked up and said.
"The total for these items is 862 pounds. Since it's your first time and you bought many items, you can give me 850 pounds."
After giving the money to the shopkeeper, Leonard left the store with the goods in the complimentary boxes and drove back to his rented apartment.
Next was the experiment, but unfortunately, the silver coin, library card, spearhead, and Congo ritual statue did not cause any reaction from the Golden Finger.
Soon, the test turned to the string of glass beads. As he picked up the beads, Leonard focused his attention on the so-called African-style trade bead necklace, where he had noticed something odd earlier.
Trade beads originally referred to glass beads made in Europe in the 17th-19th centuries, sent to Africa for trading gold, ivory, and slaves. They were the latest industrial products in Europe at the time.
In many parts of Africa, they were not only popular decorative items but also circulating currency. These are the glass beads often mentioned in books, where Europeans used cheap glass beads to swindle wealth from the natives.
More accurately, this trade was an unequal one conducted by Europeans exploiting their technological advantage. Just like how their descendants later sold microchips made from sand at sky-high prices.
As the shopkeeper had a store in the Alfie Antique Market, he was naturally used to such common antiques and didn't make mistakes in identifying their general nature.
Considering that the preservation of this necklace was not bad, but without any high-priced varieties in it, it was sold to Leonard Ethan for the common market price of 20 Pounds per bead.
"Indeed, even the most knowledgeable scholars have things they don't recognize, let alone a mere antique shop owner," said Leonard, recalling some books he had read during his university days, as he carefully examined a pale blue glass bead on the necklace with a magnifying glass.
This glass bead was similar to the others, but upon closer inspection, it was found that the top circular part was embedded in the glass bead below, rather than being an integral part like the other beads.
"Yes, this should be a well-preserved Chinese Warring States dragonfly eye glass bead." After several checks, Leonard confirmed the identity of this glass bead.
What made this African-made glass bead necklace special was that it combined glass beads from the Eastern Warring States period of Chinese history and the 17th century Western Europe.
As Leonard made his final judgment on the African style trade bead necklace in his hand, an unexpected change occurred. Two dark iron-colored cards appeared in his mind, visible only to him, after a flash of light.
One of these cards was [Detection (N)], which he already had before, the other was a new card, [Identification (N)].
[Identification (N): No one can be all-knowing, even the most erudite scholars have things they cannot recognize. In such cases, you need a little help.
Skill Card (single use), consume this card to obtain detailed information about a specific item designated by the cardholder.]
After reviewing these two new cards, Leonard leaned back in his chair, sighed, and smiled. He had finally figured out some of the rules of his Golden Finger through this experiment.
Firstly, the Golden Finger only worked on items that belonged to Leonard himself. Prior to this, he had touched the necklace without eliciting any response. However, further research was needed to understand the specifics of this aspect.
Secondly, he must be able to recognize what the item actually was. The Golden Finger only reacted after he confirmed the identity of the bead.
Thirdly, since the inheritance of the Golden Finger was called History Explorer, it resonated with historically significant items. The worldly price of these items did not necessarily correlate with their historical significance.
For instance, this strand of beads could be seen as a miniaturized representation of an immense trade network spanning the Old World and lasting for thousands of years. That's why it was recognized by the Golden Finger.
Finally, although the Golden Finger seemed like a product of mysticism, the items it required were not limited to those related to mysticism. At least the statues used in African religious ceremonies did not elicit any response from it.