One of Matthew's favorite feelings in the world was coming home from work. He was cooped up in a warehouse all day long, stocking shelves for an electrical supplier.  Matthew couldn't complain though since it made him good money during the summer while he was in high school.

As Matthew jumped onto his bed he looked over to the bookshelf, filled to its brim with books. One of Matthew's favorite pastimes was reading books. History was the genre that Matthew liked the most with most of his books being of that genre.

Matthew had books on all subjects and all time periods. Another thing that Matthew like collecting was coins. Matthew grew up around collectors, with his family all collecting different things. He was always attracted to coins when he was younger but was only interested in the modern ones.

It wasn't until the beginning of 10th grade that Matthew got interested in ancient coins. He would read books about them and browsing the internet looking at coins.

Today was a special day for Matthew as a coin he orders online was delivered to him. As Matthew pick up the box, he set aside in his room he couldn't contain the smile on his face. He ordered a bulk of uncleaned coins online for cheap and hoped he could get some new coins he never saw before.

He got a knife and cut off the packing tape on the box. "Shit," exclaims Matthew as he cut his pointer finger with the knife. As Matthew was excited about the coins, he opened the box with the hand that was not cut while using his squeezing his pointer finger between his thumb and middle finger in the other hand.

What Matthew saw when he opened the box made him forget to put pressure on his finger and cause him to burst out laughing. "Damn, and I thought I bought from a reputable buyer this time," said Matthew as he lifted a tetradrachm. Although dirty you could clearly see the owl on the reverse of the coin.

Matthew bought this bulk of coins from a seller from an internet marketplace with a good profile with no bad reviews for about $55. He wasn't expecting any rare coins or any in good quality, he just wanted to see what he could find like he was in a treasure hunt.

Matthew was not expecting a coin that could be worth hundreds of dollars. 'They least could have put in a fake Roman coin since I bought a bulk of Roman coins, not Greek," thought Matthew who then realize that his blood was all over the coin.

Putting the coin down Matthew rush to the bathroom praying he doesn't have to get stitches. Only after Matthew closed the door did the coin release a bright light, that reminded people of a chemical reaction. After a couple of seconds did the coin stop releasing the light. If you would look closely at the coin, you would notice that there was no blood left on the coin.

"Thank God that I don't need any stitches," Matthew says as he puts his hand underneath the faucet. Luckily the wound was about 1/8in(3.18mm) so it was good. As he finishes rinsing his finger underneath the faucet he wraps around a bandage over the finger.

Sighing to himself Matthew walks back to his room hoping to himself that he could find an authentic coin in the bulk lot he bought. Opening his door and walking towards his desk, his eyes were drawn to the tetradrachm which he noticed some differences from when he last saw it.

He could see several spots where silver was peeking out that weren't visible when he saw it last. 'Huh, that's weird where is my blood on the coin,' thought Matthew. Although he couldn't be sure of it he was sure that the place where the silver was peeking out, was where his blood was spilled on the coin.

Matthew looked at the coin for a minute or two before he put it beside. He got out a cleaning pick and a brass brush. As he got to cleaning the bulk lot he slowly forgot about the tetradrachm. As Matthew was looking over all his new coins a smile crept on his face. He then proceeded to pick the fake coin and then look over it.

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Matthew thought to himself, “Should I even try to clean this fake coin?" As he looked at the clock and saw it was only 6 p.m. so decided to clean it before making dinner for himself. As he began cleaning Matthew noticed something off about the coin, no matter how hard he tried to clean it the dirt wouldn't come off the coin.

Soon Matthew gave up on trying to clean the coin and went to read a book. Time slowly went by until it came 7 p.m. and Matthew went downstairs to get something to eat. Matthew's parents were out visiting their friends for the week, so he had to make food for himself.

Today was the first full day without his parents in the house. Since yesterday dinner was still good, he heated that up in the oven. While Matthew was eating, he thought of a ridiculous answer to how to clean the fake coin.

'When my blood dropped on the coin some spots of the dirt came off, so maybe let's try that,' thought Matthew. Although to Matthew he couldn't think how blood could make dirt dissolve that was the only thing he could think of.

After finishing his meal Matthew set his dish into the sink and went upstairs to test his theory. Taking off his bandage Matthew said out loud, “This better work or I will just look stupid."

He then squeezed his finger only to his dismay that no blood came out. Matthew could only shake his head thinking that the wound stop bleeding about an hour ago. Grabbing the knife that he cut himself earlier, Matthew slowly took the tip of the knife and put pressure on his thumb until he could see blood.

Matthew after looking at his thumb with a slight smile put pressure on it until a drop of blood seep out and landed on the dirty coin. After a few more drops pour out onto the coin, Matthew could only shake his head in dejection. As Matthew waited a few more seconds until he got up a bright light was released from the coin.

"Holy shit, was I sent a bomb?" exclaimed Matthew as he looked at the coin with a dumbfounded expression. As the light was still being released from the coin Matthews was becoming more worried about his own safety.

As Matthew was thinking about leaving the house the light from the coin abruptly ended. Confused, Matthew cautiously walked up to the coin and looked at it from 3 feet. Seeing nothing wrong with the coin from afar, Matthew slowly walked up to it.

As Matthew stood over the coin, he could see more silver peeking out.  He was now sure that his blood could dissolve whatever was on the top of the coin.

'Whatever is on top of this coin it's definitely not dirt,' thought Matthew. He wondered what material that could react with blood in such a manner.

After a few moments of thought Matthew down to the kitchen to get a bowl. Matthew then filled that bowl with water and squeeze some drops of blood into it. Submerging the coin into the bowl Matthew waited and saw some light coming off the coin. Although it was nothing compared to droplets being directly landed upon the coin, it still managed to dissolve it.

After waiting a few more minutes Matthew took out the coin and tried to pick off some of its crust. He managed to get a lot of it off, but there was still a small layer left on the coin.

"Do I have to get this coin a bath of blood to get it all off," Matthew said out loud in frustration. Matthew could only take the knife again and he stab himself again in the thumb. As his blood was forming a puddle on the coin, Matthew spread it out on the whole side of the coin. He then waited until the light was released.

The brightest light that Matthew saw from the coin yet, was released. Matthew was being blinded by the light a little bit, so he turned away from it. After not seeing any light from the corner of his eye did, he turn around.

When Matthew turned around, he saw a coin with no dirt on one side looking like it struck yesterday. As Matthew looked over the coin, he thought it was the best tetradrachm that he ever saw.

Although he was convinced that the coin itself was fake, he was interested in the stuff that surrounded the coin. He was sure that found something special but couldn't make it out.

Yawning to himself Matthew flips the coin over to its obverse to look at Athena. He then got back to squeezing his wound to form a puddle on the coin. After a couple of seconds, he got enough blood and spread it over the coin, and got enough for its ridge.

Another bright light was released that made Matthew turn away. As he was waiting Matthew thought to himself,' That has to be one of the best fake tetradrachms I've ever seen. As Matthew was trying to gauge its worth as a counterfeit the bright light stopped.

Turning over Matthew saw something he would have never expected. Years later Matthew would think that the best decision of his life was buying that bulk lot of the internet. it would lead him to adventures, love, and turmoil. It would also make him challenge himself and make him understand himself in a deeper way.