I suppose it comes with the territory. I just love to leave the well-lit avenues of a town that serve as its window dressing and venture down its back alleys where its authentic pulse beats. And by the same token, whenever I meet a well-to-do educated lady of fine manners, I want to peel back the well-perfumed façade and peer into the darkness.
But sometimes I don't have to.
The Athenian Decadrachm is a silver coin minted by the city-state of Athens in c. 466 BC. There are only forty such coins in existence and the last one was auctioned for well over half a million dollars.
The quote above is from my new novel Bird of Prey. In it, the auction of a fake Athenian Decadrachm becomes a struggle without rules. The photograph above announced the auction of an Athenian Decadrachm. The coin was estimated to sell at $875.000 USD. Now who would spend that kind of money for a coin? Why? But wait! Just before the auction, the following announcement was published:
Lot #45 Lot Withdrawn
This lot has been withdrawn from the auction. Recent new information has come to light which points to the possibility that the coin is not authentic. Further investigation and research is needed. Both Heritage and Gemini have the utmost responsibility to ensure the authenticity of every lot sold and our decision to withdraw this lot is in line with that policy. We regret this new information was only discovered at the eleventh hour and apologize for any inconvenience...
They say that truth is stranger than fiction. It is no surprise that what I envisaged in a novel has almost happened in real life. To a writer of thrillers however it is terribly exciting whenever grime and filth and stench momentarily leak out from unseen cracks and flow down the well polished surfaces of wealth and respectability.
Face it: what lies beneath those well polished surfaces of elegance is not far from what's inside the covers of a mystery thriller.
Very interesting, stranger than fiction indeed! thx for sharing
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