How does the metaphor in these sentences affect the passage?

His amazement amused Regina and made her think of a long-ago forty-niner discovering an overlooked gold nugget at the height of the California gold rush. Jamal held on to his collection just as tightly as that found nugget, and he had been reluctant to let it out of his sight.…

…She glanced over at Jamal, who had packed away his comic book treasure and was exiting the car.

It demonstrates that Jamal wants to keep the comic books to himself.

It conveys the idea that Jamal values his comic books tremendously.

It suggests that Jamal knows how much money his comic books are worth.

It depicts how Jamal digs through a pile of comic books to find one.