Today's Shoutout goes out to Mrs. Weeks' seventh grade social studies classes at Williams Middle School in Bridgewater, Massachusetts! What's the chemical symbol for gold? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Au, B) Fe, C) Gl or D) Zr? You've got three seconds -- GO! On the (periodic) table, you'll find this expensive element listed as Au, as in aurum, which is Latin for gold. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! The Golden Cup Gold has been highly valued and in high demand for centuries, and it's used in a lot more than just jewelry. When John Webber was a kid, his grandfather gave him a cup made from this precious metal. Webber thought it was just junk and (stashed it away)! Lucky for him, the item, which traveled all the way from ancient Iran to modern-day England, eventually came out of hiding. Phil Black discovers the details. Ancient, beautiful and valuable. It's like something out of an Indiana Jones movie: two outward-facing female faces decorated with snakes.
This gold cup was given to John Webber when he was a boy by his grandfather, who was in the scrap metal business. He (initially) used it as a target for his slingshot. I didn't mean to be (disrespectful) to the country where she came from. But it seemed to be a good thing to (aim at), at the time. Then it was stored in a shoe box under a bed for 60 years. When John Webber found it again, he had a (gut) feeling, and scientific tests proved he was right. Analysis shows the cup was (crafted from) a single piece of gold around two-and-a-half thousand years ago, probably in the Achaemenid Empire, an ancient civilization that grew out of Iran. Not all archaeologists are convinced that's where it came from, but the cup still caused a lot of (fuss) at a small auction house in the English town of Dorchester. It should fetch quite a good price, should it not. That's your (prediction)? would imagine so, yes. As for the quality of the workmanship, I don't know. It looks very good, doesn't it? It's absolutely beautiful. It's just what we want on the mantelpiece at home.
On this auction day, the cup was clearly the oldest and potentially most valuable item for sale. There were predictions it could go for as much as a million dollars. But the (auctioneers) weren't so cocky. The feeling in this room is tense, because despite all the public interest in this item, there are fears there may not be many serious buyers. The origins are (disputed), and items like this don't come on the open market very often. So, will it sell? And if so, for how much? And now we come to the cup, lot 378. he bidding climbed quickly. 48 thousand. 50 thousand. Then stalled. At 50 thousand, it is at the back of the room; the gent's bid at 50 thousand. All done then at 50 thousand pounds? Quite sure? (bang) 50 thousand pounds, or one hundred thousand dollars. John Webber wasn't complaining. John, I saw you smiling then. Yes, that's right. It's not an object that we bought, so whatever it makes is going to go back into the (family coffers) anyway. We've had quite a good day, really. And his grandchildren were smiling too. Oh yeah. I think we both know why that is. The buyers were private English collectors (keen to) maintain their privacy. They now join the list of its owners, which have included wealthy people in an ancient land and the grandson of a (scrap) metal collector.
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