GoldFinger1969

Terrible....where did they live ? That flu killed everybody, not just the very old and very young. The website says it first aired 2010 but I distinctly recall looking at the copyright at the end and it was 1998 or 1999. That would also be 90 years after The Flu and some of the children at that time were in their 80's, not 90's, in the documentary.

Again, this was a PBS documentary on the 1918 Spanish Flu. Probably "American Experience." I'm sure they glossed over stuff but the gist of the piece at about the 3/4 mark was that just as the virus was raging out of control (in some areas, like Philadelphia), it suddenly took a big downturn. Let me see if I can find it online. EDIT: It's not available for streaming on the PBS website and I can't find it online. I'll keep looking and also it may re-run again on PBS in coming weeks/months.

The Duckor 2012 FUN Catalog I got is a real classic because I get lots of commentaries from the late David Akers specific to that catalog (he died later that year) or from his book (2008) or the Price sale (1998). Did anybody here ever meet David Akers ? I wasn't into Saints that much when he passed away, wish I had a chance to meet him at a big coin show or something.

As best I can tell, he worked for Sotheby's as their in-house numismatic expert....but Sotheby's doesn't sell that many coins, only "trophy" pieces like the 1933. And they usually partner with Stacks-Bowers when they do. So I don't know how busy he was at Sotheby's. Supposedly, he spent years researching the 1933 Saint so I guess he had alot of free time. I've never seen any books he wrote other than ILLEGAL TENDER and no of no articles for the online or other publications. He may be a nice guy but he works for a firm with no loyalty to our hobby/profession and AFAIC he stabbed everyone in the back by defending the government in the 1933 case.

The CT folks met at FUN 2020. Hopefully, the same happens here with the NGC posters.

Attendance in the next year at coin shows will be VERY INTERESTING...so many people have anectdotally registered over at Ebay, HA, GC, AuctionNinja.com, etc...that we should see a bump besides pent-up demand. If show organizers can get the word out they can really clean-up attendance wise. Need to get the message out via social media for young and old alike. Maybe direct mail for old foggies.

Let's get back to the OP......the virus ENDING it's reign of terror and coin shows coming back. Again....my order is.....(1) Parsippany (Garden State, NJ) in April or May (2) Mt. Kisco Show (a new show that started up right before the virus hit) quarterly (3) Baltimore Whitman Show in November (4) FUN in January.

The loss of taste and smell is scary. Do we know yet how the virus does that ? That, more than any other effect, leads me to believe this virus was man-made.

Will definitely be interesting to see how attendance at the Summer/Fall shows turns out.

I thought that mask thing was all about flattening the curve, remember that ? Me personally.....I think INDIVIDUALLY a mask may help....but in the AGGREGATE, I think a virus like C-19 will do what it is going to do in terms of "low-hanging fruit" regardless. I do think masks helped flatten the curve. BTW, that measles outbreak wasn't too far from where I live.

I'm not an expert, but the Whitman GUIDE is more for beginners to intermediate, I would think the VAM Enclyopedia is for more advanced collectors focusing on the VAM varieties. Assuming you are just starting out, I would think the GUIDE is better (get the 6th Edition). The Morgan experts here can chime in.

How many years after the coin was minted/graded did it develop the spots ?

Are Nazi-era coins popular in Germany, anybody know ?

Maybe, but sometimes you just have to let a virus "burn through" the low-hanging fruit and be done with it. That 1918 Spanish Flu...they thought it was gonna wipe out the world or U.S. population for a few weeks/months....then it just died...kaput. There was a really good AMERICAN EXPERIENCE or NOVA special from 1999...they had survivors from that period interviewed (probably all dead by now since it's 21 years later). PBS ran this a few months ago so I thought it was timely. Probably on the PBS website....check it out, very good viewing and some lessons for Covid.

What's weird this year is that nobody seems to be getting the flu -- except me !! I had a 72-hour really bad bug over Thanksgiving. Was sure I had C-19 but got tested on Thanksgiving Day and it showed negative 2 days later. After 3 days, the fever broke. I got a flu vaccine a few weeks later (mid-December) from my doctor, probably the first one in 40+ years. Since then, I had 2 "mild" flus that lasted 1-2 days with a milder fever than in November (99-100 vs. 102'ish). Got tested last week again for C-19....negative. Go figure......

If you collect or are interested in Morgans....the Whitman MORGAN DOLLAR GUIDE book is a must. If you collect or are interested in gold coins/Saints.....the Whitman DOUBLE EAGLE GUIDE book is a must, along with Aker's 2nd Edition of 1907-33 Gold Coins....plus Roger Burdette's SAINT-GAUDENS DOUBLE EAGLE 640-page Magnus Opus which is a bigger committment $$$-wise and time-wise. But well worth it, if you have intentions of pursuing Saints in the future.

My nephew is getting married in June, bleep that. I'll get the damn shots and after that, I don't wanna be bugged.

I think maybe he got 1 or 2 spam emails or PMs. Maybe someone was trying to be helpful and he took it the wrong way. Hopefully, he exaggerated. I think most of the people here daily and weekly are committed to the site and transacting business is secondary or even lower, if it is even on their want list.

If 80-90% of the country is vaccinated by the end of May, we should have something approaching herd immunity by June or July. Personally, I am tired of being cooped up. I want to see stuff with my own eyes and NOT on a computer screen. Hoping I can meet some of the online coin friends and associates at Whitman and FUN in coming months.

Surprised that high-cost Ebay is the place to sell world and foreign coins. I guess their largere user base -- including globally -- pays off in this situation.

Well, locally I'd like to check out the Garden State Coin Show in Parsippany. It's held monthly so I may give it a shot in May. I was planning on checking out the Baltimore Whitman show in November. It's a 1-day event if I want it from my parents house. After that, I want to go to FUN in January if I can swing the $$$.

Lance, what about going to HA and GC (and maybe even SB) for recent sales for the more obscure (or even common) world/foreign coins ?

Welcome ! I am into Morgans, Saints, Vatican coinage, and moderns, including commemoratives.

1907 Ultra High Relief sold for $3,600,000 (incl. bp) last month. Wow...first time auctioned since 2003......this is the Norweb UHR that has only changed hands a few times since their family gave it up. Details are in the HA description. https://coins.ha.com/itm/proof-high-relief-double-eagles/1907-20-ultra-high-relief-normal-edge-lettering-pr68-ngc-jd-3-low-r7/a/1327-3802.s?ic=ih-clickImage-1907-$20-ultra-high-relief-1327-012921

Moderns are more likely to "turn" than classic coins. It's one of the risks we have to manage. FWIW, I have bought probably 100 modern coins of all types and sizes and not one has developed any post-graded imperfections.