Project J Read Free Page A

past.   This was the first real piece of history we retrieved.   It is a piece of papyrus dating from one thousand BC.   Not much to look at, but it was a scientific breakthrough standing right up there with the printing press and the splitting of the atom.”
     
    She looked a little closer.   Yes, those could be hieroglyphics. But they lacked the faded look she had seen on other papyrus documents.   It looked as if the printing had been done only yesterday.
     
    “In case you’re wondering, it’s part of a legal document.   A deed to some land being granted to a noble by the pharaoh,” added Dr. Crane.
     
    Directing her attention to one of the objects on the nearest table, he held up a frame containing a large piece of dull gray paper on which were lines of tightly packed writing.
     
    “In 1215 a bunch of barons ganged up on King John of England and forced him to sign the Magna Carta.   This is the original document with the king’s signature and all.   There are four surviving copies from that time.   We compared it with the copy in the British Library.   It is identical.   You will note the ink seems fresh.   It is.
     
    “This,” he said, putting down the framed document and picking up a small, dull gold colored rock, “is the first piece of gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848.   John Marshal was supervising the construction of a sawmill and found this in a creek.   It started the gold rush in California.
     
    “That dirty black top hat was worn by President Lincoln while he gave his Gettysburg Address.   Those sparkly red shoes were worn by Judy Garland in 1938’s ‘Wizard of Oz’.   That somewhat battered sword there belonged to Hernán Cortés , the guy that overthrew the Aztecs and conquered Mexico.   It has bloodstains on it.
     
    “That beat up wooden box there was the portable writing desk designed and used by Thomas Jefferson.   In 1776 he wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence on this desk.   And that frame next to it has the actual first draft.”
     
    He was warming up to his task, and apparently enjoyed showing off the items they plucked from history.
     
    “This is a freshly minted 1804 silver dollar.”
     
    “Is it worth much?” she asked.
     
    “Well, actually, quite a bit.   Has an interesting history.   I’m sort of a coin collector and have studied this one.   In 1804 the US Mint records indicated that 19,750 silver dollars were minted.   However, it was the practice at the time to use old dies until they were worn out.   All of those coins minted in 1804 were dated 1803.   Silver dollars with the 1804 date did not appear until 1834 when a set of coins was minted as gifts to certain rulers in Asia.   The mint employees knew that 1804 was the last date for those types, so they produced a set with that date.   They only produced seven copies since they were supposed to be gifts, not for release to the public.   Then, between 1858 and 1860, a number of these coins were illegally struck by a Mint employee.   He sold them to collectors in a store in Philadelphia.   However, Mint officials hunted them down and seized all but one.
     
    “Anyway, to answer your question, the last one sold at auction fetched just over four million dollars.”
     
    Tamara pursed her lips.   “I can see the potential for acquiring a great deal of wealth with your time machine.”
     
    “Oh, we take precautions to assure that none of these items ever gets out of here,” Stryker immediately said.
     
    “Okay, if you’re not making money with it, what do you use the machine for?”
     
    “Mostly for research,” Crane said.   “We have a small staff of university professors here who are collecting artifacts for study.   We’re making wonderful strides in many areas of historical study.   And we are constantly working on ways to make the process faster and less resource draining.   You’d be surprised at how much electrical power the Machine