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FACTS AND FANCIES
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swallowed.
He placed the value of that at $375,000. As the Shah's pearl was about
three inches long, Cleopatra's must have been large enough to reflect
on the story connected with it.
It
is said Julius Caesar presented a pearl valued at an equivalent of
nearly $250,000 to Servilla the sister of Cato of Utica and mother of
Marcus Junius Brutus. The pearl taken from the ear-drop of Caecilia
Metella by Clodius to dissolve and drink in vinegar was valued at $40,000.
A
large pear-shaped pearl weighing one thousand grains was found at the
island of Margarita off the Colombian coast and given to Philip II. of
Spain. Some reports say it was obtained in 1579; others give the date
as 1560 and say it was presented to the monarch by Don Diego de Temes.
It was valued then at something over $30,000, but Freco, the king's
jeweller, said it might be worth twice to twenty times as much for such
a gem was priceless. It was later known among the crown jewels as La
Peregrina. Prior to this, a companion of Magellan reported having seen
two pearls as
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