Page 49 of Traitors Gate

‘Reluctantly,’ said Christina, ignoring the flattery. ‘But I finally convinced him.’

‘Then it’s you who I should thank,’ he said, raising his coffee cup as if it were a wine glass.

‘Are you a collector by any chance?’ ventured Christina.

‘No, but my father was, so I grew up surrounded by beautiful things.’

‘And are you still surrounded by them?’

‘Sadly not. When he died, death duties, inheritance tax and a wicked stepfather who was more interested in selling than buying meant there wasn’t much left over for the prodigal son. But I’m not complaining, as I still ended up with enough to ensure I don’t have to rely on my wits to survive.’

‘So you don’t own a painting that in the fullness of time you might consider gifting to the Fitz?’ asked Christina, delivering a sentence she’d heard Beth repeat many times without even blushing.

‘I’m afraid not,’ he said as he moved across and took the seat opposite her. ‘I fear my stepfather put a stop to that.’

‘You know my name, but I—’

‘Percy. Percy Singleton,’ he said.

‘You’re not by any chance related to the distinguished art critic, Sir Peregrine Singleton?’

‘My late father, God bless him.’ He raised his coffee cup once again.

‘But you hinted he left you other things,’ said Christina, still hopeful.

‘Yes, but nothing that would interest the Fitzmolean. A stamp collection that regular visits to Stanley Gibbons over the years have helped keep the wolf from the door, and a few coins that should make it possible for me not to have to rely on a state pension.’

‘I had no idea coins could be that valuable.’

‘Oh, yes,’ said Percy. ‘A 1343 Edward III florin, for example, recently sold at Sotheby’s Parke-Bernet for four hundred and eighty thousand pounds, while a rare 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar, thought to be among the first struck by the US Mint, was bought by a private collector for over ten million dollars. Despite the Mint striking one thousand eight hundred of them, it’s thought fewer than a hundred still survive.’

‘Do you own one?’

‘I wish. No, but I recently sold my George V 1917 sovereign for just over eight thousand pounds. But I’m afraid all I have left are the old man’s two-pence silver coins.’

‘But I thought two-pence coins were made of bronze?’

‘A bronze-coloured metal base,’ explained Percy. ‘Truth is, that for the past five hundred years, our coinage has been quite literally debased. However, the rare exception is the 1971 two-pence coin, of which about a thousand were accidentally minted with the wrong base – in this case, silver – which is hardly surprising remembering the Royal Mint manufactures around three to four million coins a day. So make sure you always check your change, because you might just get lucky and discover you have an example of one of the rare silver coins that can fetch over a thousand pounds on the open market.’

‘And do you have one?’ asked Christina.

‘A hundred and forty-four, to be precise. My father got hold of what’s called a rack, which consists of twelve shelves, each containing a dozen coins. The Royal Mint took their time coming to terms with decimalization.’

‘That should take care of your pension problems.’

‘It certainly would have done if my father hadn’t listed them in his will, which means I can only risk selling one ortwo at a time if I don’t want to alert the taxman. Inheritance tax is bad enough, but when they add capital gains tax, it’s a killer.’

‘Would I know one when I saw it?’

‘Only if you were looking for it,’ said Percy, taking a silver coin out of his pocket and placing it on the table in front of her.

Christina picked up the two-pence piece, turned it over, and studied it for some time before saying, ‘And you’re telling me this is worth a thousand pounds?’

‘Probably more.’

‘So remembering your tax problem, would you be willing to sell it to me for, say, five hundred?’

‘No way,’ said Percy, slipping the coin back into his pocket. ‘They’re currently trading on the black market at around seven hundred and fifty, and you’d be lucky to pick one up in Spink’s for less than twelve hundred.’

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