VKurtB

But at Texas A&M there are all sorts of touching going on. Would it help to know that there are literally millions of these saved in original rolls, of all four 2009 reverse designs and both regular mints?

Okay, it's official. The "newbie disease" has infected the Summer Seminar. Lots of dewy eyed newbies looking to be told they have extremely valuable error coins. They don't. The effing Internet did this to the hobby. I hold it responsible.

My favorite law firm.

Can I get an "amen" brother? Dr. Jesse Kraft, curator of the American Numismatic SOCIETY (the New York place, not the Colorado Springs place) openly "whined", "complain" is the more charitable term, about the type of inquires described above. It's not only here, or ATS, it's true even at the ANS. He (Dr Kraft) refuses to answer any and all such queries. If someone has a historical question, or a metallurgical one, he'll entertain those, but no "what are they worth" questions. I got to examine the finest New England silver coins this week. Ever held a PCGS MS65 pine tree shilling? I have.

The Trial of the Pyx is not bologna. It's a long standing (900 years or so) judicial proceeding. White wigs, black robes, the firm of Rude, Belittling, and Smug. The whole shmeer.

But at Texas A&M there are all sorts of touching going on. Would it help to know that there are literally millions of these saved in original rolls, of all four 2009 reverse designs and both regular mints?

You've never heard Smug argue a case.

I was tempted because I am a numismatic anglophile, but the prices were just too stupid.

A good sized majority of the numismatic hobby is a floating turd regatta. Only a TIIIIIIINY sliver is legit. My particular sliver is the ANA Summer Seminar and large coin shows that have educational talks which ALLOW QUESTIONING AND LIVE INTERACTION. In my talk at Colorado Springs last year in June, I not only allowed questions, I encouraged them to interrupt as if I were presenting a case in an appellate court. The attendees appreciated the style. 

Seriously, there is no there there. 

Yes, this. A coin can be BADLY HORRIBLY DAMAGED, yet still be UNC or MS or BU. But even a slight amount of barely perceptible WEAR will take it down to AU. Uncirculated is not a description of a coin’s history. A so-called Uncirculated coin may have passed through THOUSANDS of hands. 

He obviously never heard of Carl Sagan. 
 
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” was a phrase made popular by Carl Sagan who reworded Laplace's principle, which says that “the weight of evidence for an extraordinary claim must be proportioned to its strangeness” (Gillispie et al., 1999).

I used to play with vials of mercury when I was a kid, and I came out okay, okay, okay, okay... 

There were no tours on Juneteenth, a Wednesday. Our ANA tour was the following day, Thursday. Federal employees all. Guess how much activity was apparent on the Thursday after a Wednesday holiday. I imagine the July 5 tours will see even less activity. Not a single press, nor conveyor of blanks, nor upsetting machine, was moving. But there was ONE ROOM where activity was abuzz. The robots that pack SPECIALLY STRUCK Denver circulation-style coins for 2024 Uncirculated Sets and the humans inspecting the finished holders were chugging away, doing their duties. The new information I got was that Uncirculated Sets are now containing specially struck coins struck at a far lower speed and higher striking pressure than "intended for circulation" counterparts are. Who knew and didn't tell?

Seriously, you really do need a thicker skin in this field. Sarcasm and smart-alecky is the most benign thing you'll find here. The ones you need to watch out for are the ones blatantly trying to rip you off.

Greenstang had it right. NOT EVEN ONE SINGLE FLAKE of gold in Lower Manhattan belongs to the United States. Every smidgeon is foreign owned. The weird part about the Denver holdings is that no one who witnessed the last (total) sealing of the vault at Denver containing the gold is still with us. Even the three gold bars shown during the tour at Denver were shlepped there from West Point. They didn't want to break the vault seal at Denver. The gold at Fort Knox has been "witnessed" FAAAAAAAR more recently than that at Denver. Every piece of gold owned by the United States is in the custody of the Bureau of the Mint of the Treasury Department of the United States Government. Yes, Fort Knox is under Bureau of the Mint control.

'Dega is about an hour and a half south and east, the best route to Atlanta from my home.

I used to play with vials of mercury when I was a kid, and I came out okay, okay, okay, okay... 

I see no doubling, only abrasion. I am kind of a quasi-expert on abrasion and toning. They are key aspects of my personality. I'm abrasive and people don't care for my tone. (Now ask me if I care - I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan.)
 

Seriously, you really do need a thicker skin in this field. Sarcasm and smart-alecky is the most benign thing you'll find here. The ones you need to watch out for are the ones blatantly trying to rip you off.

Seriously, you really do need a thicker skin in this field. Sarcasm and smart-alecky is the most benign thing you'll find here. The ones you need to watch out for are the ones blatantly trying to rip you off.

I used to play with vials of mercury when I was a kid, and I came out okay, okay, okay, okay... 

Yup, sure can. I am guessing that's why human handling has been virtually eliminated.

Of course, the fact that Joseph Wharton owned the largest then-known nickel mine, in far eastern Lancaster County, PA, near the town now known as Gap, PLUS the only plant capable of creating “malleable nickel”, in Camden, NJ, was merely a coincidence. Uh huh.