The Rise of the European Emperor

There were no national banks in Europe in this day and age. Often, the business scope of banks is limited to a certain large city. Of course, there are also cross-city banks, but at most a few cities, and they are all big cities.

For now, the banking industry in Italy is relatively developed. For example, the banks in Venice are relatively large. However, only within the territory of the Republic of Venice. Out of Venice, the impact is not great.

Of course, there are also some larger and influential banking families. For example, the Fugger family, which supports the Habsburg family, has a greater influence on the bank. Even the cardinals of Rome recognized the bank drafts of the Fugger family.

However, those big banks often only have offices in big cities. For example, in Rome, in Vienna, in Milan…

A lesser-known town like Emden doesn't have the branches of those big banks. Moreover, Marin will not allow outsiders to set up a bank in Beihai Kingdom and withdraw cash from Beihai Kingdom.

In fact, Marin planned to set up his own bank. However, due to various reasons, it has not been established for the time being. Moreover, even if he formed the official bank of Beihai Kingdom, at best it could only target the country. It is not easy to expand to other countries...

Therefore, this auction in Emden, the carrying and verification of funds, is a big problem. Because, Emden does not have the branches of those famous banks. Many of those who participated in the auction simply came to the auction with cash. However, for convenience, Marin invited some bank representatives from the Hanseatic League from places such as Hamburg and Cologne to provide settlement services for those participants who carried money orders. But many people did not know that Marin invited those bank representatives. In order to successfully photograph the goods they wanted, they simply brought a lot of gold and silver coins.

In order to count these gold and silver coins and issue tickets, it also took a lot of manpower from Beihai Kingdom up and down. In order to help count those gold and silver coins, Marin mobilized a large number of tax officials from all over the world to help count the amount of money.

In fact, but counting the number, it is still very simple. But the problem is, the value of each country's currency varies!

Not to mention the currency issue of other countries, but the currency within Shinra is very complicated. Because the emperor was elected, the previous emperor, in order to obtain votes, authorized those princes to coin their own coins. Then, Shinra's currency was messed up...

Gold coins are okay, everyone uses high-purity gold coins. And the silver coins are more messy...

The same is a Finney small silver coin. Some vassal silver coins have high silver content, while others have lower silver content. For example, in Austria and Bohemia, because there are many silver mines, the minted Finney silver coins have a good silver content, which can reach about half. Saxony's silver coins, because of the developed economy, can also reach about 40%. But some vassal states with bad economies are more chaotic... For example, the Archbishopric of Trier, the Finney silver coins they mint are estimated to contain less than a quarter of the silver, and they are even more expensive than Finneys from other countries. Small silver coins should be lighter...

Therefore, counting silver coins is the most frustrating thing. The officials involved in the inventory must not only calculate the amount of currency, but also calculate the exchange rate according to the silver content of the silver coins of the various vassal states, which is very complicated...

It was not until the day before the auction that those poor tax officials calculated the funds of all the bidders and issued the proof of receipt. Then, these bidders, holding the ticket certificate, went to the auction management office and received the number plate for the auction.

...

The next day, the much-anticipated auction finally started...

In imitation of the professional auction houses of later generations, Malin specially found an auctioneer who could speak well, and gave him a small gavel, so that he could "finalize"...

In fact, in this era, there is no formal auction house. Historically, formal auction houses seem to have only appeared in the 18th century. Of course, the auction bid appeared very early. It's just not that formal.

Marin distributed a number plate with a wooden handle to "raise the card" to each participant.

Seats were also assigned according to their status and the amount of production they participated in. Generally speaking, those with noble status and more money are placed in the front row, while those with lower status and less money are placed in the back row...

Then, Marin also put a lot of thought into the design of the booth - there are no electric lights these days, so the lighting effect is difficult to achieve. But Marin used mirrors to spread the sunlight outdoors, and let special "lighting engineers" hold bronze mirrors to shine the light on the booth and fall on the auction items... Moreover, these "lighting engineers" must follow the sun height, constantly adjusting the angle of the mirror...

Then, when the auction started, the buyers were stunned to find that the porcelain placed on the booth was so bright under the sunlight...

"This is a piece of fine porcelain from the ancient and mysterious Eastern Empire. The starting price is 10 gold coins, and the price is increased by 0.1 gold coins each time. Now, please show your enthusiasm and start bidding! Please note, gentlemen, each time you bid, Please raise the sign first. And I will drop the mallet after the countdown to three, two, one, to be sure that you will get the item you like! Then, start bidding now!" the auctioneer shouted excitedly.

In fact, the first pieces of porcelain were not fine products, but ordinary civilian goods, and the cost of each piece should never exceed 0.1 taels of silver (100 wen).

But the European natives who were present didn't know it, and they started to get excited following the bewitchment of the auctioneer. Then, they all bid:

"I'll give you 10 gold coins!" cried a fat man in a housekeeper's costume. However, this one forgot to raise his placard. Obviously, he has not yet adapted to this new auction model.

The auctioneer frowned, but still said politely:

"This guest, please raise your placard first and then bid!"

The fat man blushed, then raised the sign and repeated:

"I give 10 gold coins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a person next to him also raised a sign:

"10.1 gold coins!"

"Very good, guest No. 49 bid 10.1 gold coins, is there any more..." the auctioneer shouted excitedly.

"10.2 gold coins!" Another person also raised his placard.

"Guest No. 36 bids 10.2 gold coins..."

"15 gold coins!" said a butler-like person sitting in the front row impatiently. For those people who add 0.1 gold coins slowly, he has no patience.

"Okay, the distinguished guest No. 10 has bid 15 gold coins, is there a higher bid?"

"17 gold coins!" Suddenly, another person in the front row also made an offer. Obviously, the people in the front row are all big guys, and the price increase does not have a decimal point.

"17.2 gold coins!" Suddenly, someone in the back row joined in. Obviously, although the person in the back row is not high-ranking and has little money, he really wants to get this porcelain...

Then, there was a very interesting scene in the auction - the price increases in the front row were all increased by integer gold coins, and the price increases in the back row were all increased by decimal points...

In the end, the first ordinary piece of porcelain sold for a high price of 33.2 gold coins, which was better than the average price of the highest-grade porcelain auctioned by Conté in Lisbon, Portugal. However, the porcelains that were auctioned at the beginning were the most common items...

Then, with the gradual improvement of the grade of porcelain, the price of porcelain also soared... When the 500th piece of porcelain (that is, the best piece of porcelain) was auctioned, the unit price actually reached 97 gold coins, which was auctioned in Lisbon. More than three times the price...

This is probably the effect of the publicity. In short, the average price of this auction of 500 pieces of porcelain is as high as 46 gold coins. Its total price reached 23,000 gold coins. In Guangzhou, the purchase price of these 500 pieces of porcelain is definitely not more than 120 gold coins. In other words, if the cost of navigation is not included, its profit is as high as 191 times. Even if the cost of sailing is excluded, there are hundreds of times of huge profits!

Next, the auction of silk is not as popular as porcelain. After all, Europe also produces silk, but the quality is average. And porcelain, which is the exclusive supply of China in this era, is naturally more rare.

In the end, the profit of silk is only about ten times, far from that of porcelain. However, it also made Marin a profit. Because the amount of silk is larger. Mainly, the shipping of porcelain is cumbersome. After all, porcelain is hollow and takes up more space. Moreover, a special wooden box is required to be fixed to avoid breaking. On the other hand, silk can be packed in the cabin more densely, so the quantity is relatively large.

Therefore, at this Emden auction, Marin made a huge profit of more than 50,000 gold coins. Thinking that there are still airport auctions in major European cities such as Lübeck, Worms, Rome, Paris, Barcelona and London, Marin is already looking forward to more gold coins... In short, after these auctions, Ma Lin's earnings are definitely more than 200,000 gold coins...