The Skylark of Space by E.E. Smith — Read

DuQuesne's first act upon gaining the privacy of his own cabin was to / open the leather bag presented to him by the Karfedix. He expected to / find it filled with rare metals, with perhaps some jewels, instead of / which the only metal present was a heavily-insulated tube containing a / full pound of metallic radium. The least valuable items in the bag were / scores of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds of enormous size and of / flawless perfection. Merely ornamental glass upon Osnome, Dunark knew / that they were priceless upon Earth, and had acted accordingly. To this / great wealth of known gems, he had added a rich and varied assortment of / the rare and strange jewels peculiar to his own world, the faidon alone / being omitted from the collection. DuQuesne's habitual calmness of mind / almost deserted him as he classified the contents of the bag.

The radium alone was worth millions of dollars, and the scientist in him / exulted that at last his brother scientists should have ample supplies / of that priceless metal with which to work, even while he was rejoicing / in the price he would exact for it. He took out the familiar jewels, / estimating their value as he counted them -- a staggering total. The bag / was still half full of the strange gems, some of them glowing like / miniature lamps in the dark depths, and he made no effort to appraise / them. He knew that once any competent jeweler had compared their cold, / hard, scintillating beauty with that of any Earthly gems, he could / demand his own price.