he did not appreciate properly that temeraire 's own egg had been so valuable a prize that laurence 's two-eighths share , as captain of the vessel which had seized it , had bought the splendid breastplate of platinum and sapphire which temeraire yet wore ; and that iskierka 's egg had commanded a hundred thousand pounds in gold coins-of course , no-one had known at the time what her personality was to be , and temeraire had been thought only an imperial rather than a celestial dragon .