VKurtB

I had a CAC once, but a thorough gargle took care of it. I CACed it right up like a hairball. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I’ve never cared what John Albanese might think about much of anything. I only care about two opinions - the seller’s and mine, end of list. Perhaps NGC as a neutral third party occasionally, but I never give them a dispositive position even then. 

You are your own little quirky niche, aren’t you? Just like VAMmers and Early American Coppers guys. Not that I object to quirkiness in specialties. Rather I find it extremely important and it should be encouraged. Too much sameness in this hobby.

True, but yet we see these sorts of protestations about ill-treatment over and over again. This is how a generation earns the term “snowflake”. Man the heck up, please!

And I write in this admittedly aggressive manner as ALSO someone who has worked my butt off, gratis, for zero payment, for the American Numismatic Association at EVERY convention, March and August alike, since the 2012 one in Philadelphia, because it is my way of giving back to a hobby that has been very good to me. I’ve even drafted my new bride into the ANA’s service at conventions. I dragged my son to help too.  I have given more back, more often, in more ways, than nearly anybody I can name. By the 5th day of a summer ANA show, I am in deep deep physical pain from the exertion. Brain injuries are not fun or easy. Mine manifests as cramping, out of control muscle contractions, and physical phantom pain without an organic cause.  Having a brain that once bled profusely is no joke. I’ve given financially too. I have earned some forbearance, I believe. 

Look, here’s my bottom line. I had to put up with cantankerous old bas****s my whole life long, including my own family. I nearly died from a cerebral hemorrhage at 54, and I’m still here at 65 and about to retire. I even had an MRI just yesterday for diagnosing lingering effects from the CH 11 years ago. I have EARNED the right to “spew” even my most controversial opinions, and frankly I don’t even want to live anymore if today’s culture wants to censor me and my sometimes controversial views. That’s not how this country is supposed to be, dammit. And I’ll fight like a wounded animal to keep this country, and this site frankly, the way it has been historically. The “snowflakes” be damned, frankly.

Sarcasm your first language? My brother!!! Where have you been?!?! So much of numismatics so richly deserves all the sarcasm that can possibly be thrown at it. Especially anything seen on YouRube.
And I write that as a numismatist who has recently moved his holdings across seven state lines, and it weighs WELL over a ton, and consists of a high 5-figure number of pieces. But only a low 3-figure number of third party GRADED pieces. Many pieces have been in my possession since the mid-1960’s.

Spite is ALWAYS a pure evil, no exceptions. But it is the stock in trade of the moderators over at CoinTalk and their favored cronies. Both of which are members already here. Some of them pushing for harder moderation here. It’s a baaaaaaad thing.
They seem to have already chased away @Insider. I often disagree with Skip, but I do want to read his stuff, even his worst stuff.

Okay, in this context, the word is “fazes me”, not “phases me”, but I digress. I believe heavy handed moderation to be a pure evil, and I’ll tell you why. When Person A offers an opinion that might be counter to the pecuniary interests of Person B, Person A will IMMEDIATELY become a targeted individual BY Person B and his cronies. This is what happens on a DAILY basis over at CoinTalk. Worse yet, when someone offers an opinion that may negatively affect the bottom line at NGC, perhaps Dena herself will become “the assassin” personally. Slippery slope, NGC, slippery slope. But sooooo 2020, am I right?
 
He (or she) who moderates LEAST, moderates BEST.
Some refs can’t resist the urge to insert themselves into outcomes, but the best do everything in their power not to.
I have great fears for where this is headed, and it’s never good. 

Supposed to be, yes.

True, but yet we see these sorts of protestations about ill-treatment over and over again. This is how a generation earns the term “snowflake”. Man the heck up, please!

Amen. In the United States, this day honors all veterans, living and dead.
In the rest of the Western world, this is Remembrance Day, the equivalent to the American late May holiday.
Regardless, it commemorates the armistice that ended World War I hostilities. The Treaty of Versailles screwed it up only much later. 

Amen. In the United States, this day honors all veterans, living and dead.
In the rest of the Western world, this is Remembrance Day, the equivalent to the American late May holiday.
Regardless, it commemorates the armistice that ended World War I hostilities. The Treaty of Versailles screwed it up only much later. 

Whoa, you Saint guys are tracking individual coins. That’s pretty hardcore. 

I wonder if the cent said, “Oops, excuse me.”

Ooh, there he was, about to knock it out of the park, but he misspelled “off”.

War nickels come in many more widely varied looks than perhaps any other coin except modern zinc cents. Those are just differing phases of corrosion. 

Why do you say this? What makes you think it’s not silver?

I must say, it takes a fairly vivid imagination to decide a damaged corroded cent is a foreign planchet. Congratulations on that imagination. You need to be a Paperback Writer. 

OP, what color is the sky on your planet?

There are lots (and lots and lots) of cents with concave obverses and convex reverses throughout the 1970’s and even into the early years of Zincolns. I own many many of them. Some years got pretty ridiculous. 1984 comes to mind. 

It clearly disrespected him. Why else would anyone stab something? 

Please stop it with this advice. It’s irresponsible. 

Serious inquiry: Is getting a usable white balance so difficult that it's not worth the time spent? I ask because @Insider clearly has BOTH things to teach and things to learn. It's not a one-way street. Full disclosure: getting a proper white balance can require some "fiddling" with things one might not care for, but OMG, it is completely worth the time spent. People trying to get by with phone cameras will never get this.

The true value of this thread is as a "Don't let this happen to you" lesson. Many new collectors see things that aren't real, and miss things that are. The ONLY remedy is to NOT rush into getting coins graded. Get some experience looking at tens of thousands of coins first.

It sounds like a Philadelphia labor union excuse. Trust me, there is NO SUCH THING as an "honest broker" in Philly government or unions. They're ALL thorough partisans or they never get hired. And that applied equally in the 1940's - 1950's when Philly was an "R town". Political hiring has ALWAYS been the "Philly way". Still is. Many other Pennsylvania towns also. It's all "machine", all the time.