zadok

On 3/18/2024 at 6:14 PM, VKurtB said:

Me and my “helmet” at Denver airport. I was tagged to judge both National Coin Week and Best in Show, among the seven Class winners. A SECOND TIME exhibitor won Best in Show. His happiness and astonishment was fun to be around. His exhibit was “Presidents of the Progressive Age”.

...a stud without studs, im surprised they let u in...the exhibits r usually the highlites....

On 3/18/2024 at 6:01 PM, VKurtB said:

I DO have to keep reminding myself that ANA headquarters IS in the People’s Republik of Colorado. I kept wondering if I had to change my money into Cuban pesos. 

...u have to remember when there u r in US Olympics territory another very woke organization....

On 3/18/2024 at 5:31 PM, VKurtB said:

The average age AND INFIRMITY of the ANA National Volunteers is considerable. The ANA needs to stop rewarding incompetence and “correcting” people who do know what they’re doing. Maybe it’s just me - I don’t trust people with that much “face shrapnel”.

...woke instead of awake is the current mantra, until it isnt when all the wheels n cogs cease to function...just look at the sanctuary cities, no one would live there if it werent subsidized...to numismaticize, look at the recent list of coin designs submitted in the recent survey...pathetic....

...disregarding the above non-comment, u would be correct it is not a die crack....

On 3/18/2024 at 12:53 PM, VKurtB said:

There are now three (and a half) National Volunteers who have cast aspersions, or complained out loud about ANA staff. John Wilson was first. He got a written reprimand from the Exec. Dir. John showed it to me. Then last August in Pittsburgh, and immediately thereafter, I got testy with staff in an email. Said staffer ran to the Exec. Dir., who said she didn’t like my tone. I don’t DO tone moderation. I fire away with both barrels. I told the E.D. I don’t care if she liked my tone or not. She invited me to no longer be a National Volunteer unless I apologized to her incompetent staffer. I suggested she stop hiring snowflakes. My problem with her staff was DWARFED by my wife’s reaction to their incompetence. She has REFUSED to EVER do ANYTHING with the ANA again. She counts as the half person mentioned above because even though she never was a National Volunteer, she did the work of two of them. 
 

Now at this Colorado Springs show I hear that Chief Judge Joe Boling has one of the snowflakes upset who is running to the E.D. “The mean former Colonel was mean to me.” Give me a stinking break! Life is hard. Wear a helmet. 

...as many long time members have known for years, even decades, the ANA has never been in the game...always leading from behind, always playing catch-up...their members have actually led for them, as u r well aware not too long ago a majority of the board was there only for self advancement of their own interests, members were the least of their concern, it has little improved but is still back in the 20th century...sadly, its the only organization we have....

On 3/17/2024 at 10:26 PM, Henri Charriere said:

The following is my critique of an article, to which @GoldFinger1969provided a helpful link to in a comment posted upthread within the past 24 hours.

"Bargain Collector: French Rooster Popular Gold Coin," Numismatic News, Dec. 26, 2023."

1.  "The French Rooster -- a 20-franc gold coin -- has a far shorter life span, having been coined from 1899 only until 1914."

(The Originals, 1899-1906, were coined as dated. The Restrikes, 1907-1914, were coined, in large part, in 1921 and again during the 1950's and 1960's.)

2.  "Virtually all of the Roosters qualify as common."

(Patently false and a baseless assertion.  A quick review of all mintages and Set Registries at the top two TPGS, indicate otherwise. The Originals are anything but common; five of the oldest, consecutively-dated eight Originals, which include the two rarest in the entire series, are elusive. There is a reason why bullion dealers like AMPEX advertise Roosters using the term "random date" or a date of our choosing to exclude ALL the Originals.)

3.  "... several of the French Roosters reprised -- if we want to say that using a polite term --" 

(The French term is refrappe, as opposed to frappe. In the USA, the term used is restrike. It would appear 99.44% of Rooster devotees have been using an impolite term. For sticklers of proper terminology, the term for total mintage used by the French translates into "key strokes.")

4.  (continuing from Point 3 above) " -- and have been produced at times quite a few years later than their dates would suggest." 

(Effectively contradicting an earlier comment. And the use of "quite a few years later" is imprecise and of no probative value to the collector.)

5.  "....Whatever the case, though, it is never hard to find a gold Rooster."

(A gratuitous claim that would likely apply to all coins minted now, as well as in the 20th century.)

6.  ".... it seems that the gold French Rooster minted at the turn of the 20th century comprise a short series that does have some bargain potential."

(Again, an overly broad generalization considering ALL were minted at the turn of the 20th century, but only the Restrike series is universally recognized as the "short series" which is easiest to acquire and compile though the finest grades are chronically unavailable.)

Note: As of this writing, I have posted a "Wanted: Dead or Alive" listing on the Coin Marketplace forum offering a standing $500. Reward for any one of three 20-franc gold Roosters I have sought for some time, irrespective of selling price. To date, I have received not a single response.   🐓 

Posted, as always, solely at the discretion of Moderators.

 

...not to worry, very shallow water indeed....

On 3/17/2024 at 7:51 PM, Henri Charriere said:

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Malheureusement, I will have to take some time out of my busy schedule to re-read this article a third time and do what I dislike doing: structuring my response to comport to the views held by a single disgruntled member, instead of "broadening the body of knowledge," for the benefit of all. Ah well, perhaps the quota for belittling others has been attained and it is my turn to be heckled. Fair enough. I will return with a blow-by-blow analytic look at the article and point out three deficiencies that I see that evidently are not crystal-clear to those ill-equipped to interpret the finer nuances which separate the buyers from the cryers. I'll be back!  

...actually laughable if it werent so sad...dont get in too far over ur head....

On 3/17/2024 at 2:15 PM, RWB said:

This popped up as an interesting letter relating to U.S. neutrality during 1916. Here is the presscopy image and an automatically generated transcription.

Subject: Serbian Coinage.

October 3, 1916.

 Mr. P. H. Pavlovich,

Royal Consulate General of Serbia,

442 West 22nd St.,

New York City.

 

Dear Sir,

 Referring to your letters of September 13th and 23rd, and to reply thereto from this Bureau dated September 26th, relative to proposed coinage for the Government of Serbia, I beg to advise you that upon consultation with other officials of the Department it was again held that this government should not, on the grounds of neutrality, and for the reason that money is regarded as conditional contraband of war, undertake the execution of the coinage desired.

Regretting our inability to serve you in this case,

 I am

Respectfully,

 [Signature] F.J.H. vonEngelken

Director of the Mint.

...interesting in that the US mint produced 15,000,000 coins for Serbia in 1917...guess director of mint et al didnt have final say on the matter....

On 3/17/2024 at 4:13 PM, Henri Charriere said:

Now that uncle z has elected to weigh in on a decidedly more positive note, he has inadvertently relieved me of the obligation to report on a seemingly level narrative, regrettably riddled with assumptions, conjecture -- and outright error, including contradiction.

At the head of this thread, posted nearly five years ago you will find a declaration that I intended to complete my set in 90 days. Our own VKB, amused by the constricted timeline, mused, if any collection could be compiled in only 90 days, how valuable could it possibly be?  Today, at this juncture, I believe the pickings are lush, but if your intent shifts to the best possible set, your wait will be interminable. There are more questions than answers as regarding this subject. As it stands, a dedicated collector of this fairly limited series must consult a number of disparate sources to develop a fuller understanding and appreciation of this last of the fabled 20-franc gold series.

...again more babble saying nothing...sad...definitely something/somebody needs relieved, if only we had that option, but is what it is...we really need a wider variety of emojis here....

On 3/17/2024 at 1:40 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Late-2023 Numismatic News article on French Roosters.  Good for most of us, probably 2nd-hand to Henri:

https://www.numismaticnews.net/collecting-101/bargain-collector-french-rooster-popular-gold-coin

...yea mark writes lots of those short articles on whats out there thats not always obvious to the collectors that mite be looking for something to collect, operative word "collectors"...many of his articles r collector based as opposed to investor related n definitely not dealer related...the hints in this article r "bargain" n "common", this particular series allows the collector to feed his collector habit at relative low expense n not a difficult series to search for, the coins r basically common bullion coins n easily obtainable in mint state, if one chose to he/she could complete the entire set in a month or two, if funds available, only one semi-key date n it shows up in lower mint state the rest routinely mid-grade mint state...there r several diff series that fit this same bill, netherlands 10 gulden comes to mind n a few others...plus as mark mentions it gets ur foot thru the gold door if one is so inclined....

On 3/16/2024 at 10:14 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

We're all here to learn...it's all a journey. 

...a few r not, they just seek an audience for no real purpose because they have none elsewhere....

On 3/15/2024 at 2:45 PM, Zebo said:

That’s it for the moment. I am hoping that others that attended or viewed will chime in.

the community manager is a new proposed full time staff position that would have as part of their duties be involved with outreach, videos, and social media. It would enhance visibility to those who normally do not see the ANA when searching on the internet. A nigher profile in other words.  that is just a bit of it. I did not catch the whole discussion.

I would like to hear from those who attended in person.

...vkurt is out there n im sure attended, ask him to chime in....

On 3/14/2024 at 11:52 AM, VKurtB said:

Is that adjunct or “add junk”? As in road rash coins saved because “they’re different”.

...nah, just historical memorabilia closely associated with the hobby...that other stuff is hysterical non-memorable salvage....

On 3/9/2024 at 11:37 PM, Henri Charriere said:

...pardon my impertinence, but are you a collector?... if so, what do you collect?....minus the occasional, purposely vague reference to this or that, a staged stock photo of a collection of pallets bearing bricks w/o identifying marks and grandiose statements about supposed close friends and associates presented anonymously without substantiaton, including spurious claims of outrageous returns on sedentary investments which cannot be proved or disproved, the congregation is expected to accept as gospel truth and unassailable fact the wordof a scrap dealer speaking tactically from on high in broad generalities about collecting, an activity he has yet to offer evidence he may or may not be engaged in using grandiose definitions of his own made ostensibly for his own purposes. If one were one were ask another membert, not one can offer an explanation of this subject"s specific area of interest(s) much less a Set Registry, beyond stacked wooden pallets. He has alleged to have posted a photo of a single coin in the many years he has been a member. Any challenge made of his claim to fame is met with a standard boiler-plate reply of "not important" or lacking the dignity ot a response, dispatching same with an emoji or suggestion the member suffers from an unspecified psychiatric disorder. Two weeks ago, a fellow member requested he cite the source of his information. He characteristically remained mute. It takes a big man to own up to his mistakes.

Posted at the discretion of Moderation. 

...and the brook keeps on babbling...the sadness continues, one would think the moderators mite encourage professional help in such cases but every court needs its jester....

On 3/8/2024 at 12:33 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Even bullion is highly volatile and does NOT pay you for that volatility with income or interest.  It's why gold is a lousy investment vehicle, short- or long-term.  It's like running a race -- 100 meter dash or marathon -- with a 15 pound weight attached to one's leg.

I do think that gold will work somewhat to make gains since I believe the supply-demand fundamentals the next 5-10 years are very favorable.  5-10% CAGR is possible/likely.  

But using 30-year ROLLING time periods to eliminate timing bias, gold rarely works to ourperform stocks, bonds, or conventional investments like REITs or private equity.

...u have to quit thinking bout everything in terms of investments...those that really know dont think that way....

On 3/8/2024 at 10:41 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

They sold gold bars months ago -- sold out, as I recall.  If anything, I would normally consider this BEARISH for gold as it shows that a mass retailer is selling to Joe and Josephine Six Pack.

But gold continues to go up....it's retail and central bank buying combined with NO major selling like by CBs.

Gold is in very strong hands.  Drops are being bought...corrections erase after a few weeks/months.  VERY bullish going forward.

$3,000 by $2030. 

...this is old news, it really has nothing to do with our monetary/financial markets...it has accomplished its intended purpose, having u n others talk about it...gold is exactly what it has always been, a repository for assets...its price in $s is inconsequential, its relative to whatever everything else is, there r those that have it n those that dont....by the way, josephine said she is packing but its not a six pack....

On 3/6/2024 at 6:13 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

I think both those coins should have been included, JMHO.  Rarest regularly-issued coin....coin with the story of the 1933.  Both deserving. 

I just looked at the 100 list.....they have the 2009 UHR there but no other Saint !!  No classic MSDs, either.  No coins from 1800's......

It's too modern a list.  They should have a list for moderns AND classics.

...the operative word is "greatest", in actuality there isnt anything great about saints nor most of the other coins u list...maybe u r thinking about a list of "nice" coins to own?....

On 3/6/2024 at 3:13 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

You should see if the French Central Bank has some publications or internal communications on Roosters, French monetary policy, etc.

France's role in The Great Depression has gotten alot more attention in the last 30 years.  I just ordered GOLDEN FETTERS by Barry Eichengreen.   Lots more coverage on gold flows (and maybe gold coins like Roosters ?) between the citizenry and the CBs.

 

...u r going into the deep end of the kool-aid pool...u need to get out more....

On 3/6/2024 at 4:13 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Wow, initially I would have thought 10-15.

Then upon further reflection, I realized that alot of the coins from the early-1900's like the MCMVII UHR and HR would be outside the 100 year period.  Still, 3 coins is MUCH lower than I would have thought.  Guess no special coins from the 1930's onward.

They didn't include the 1927-D and 1933 Saints, huh ? 

...surely u jest?....

On 3/5/2024 at 5:29 PM, Henri Charriere said:

...yr rejoinder reminds me of the time I walked out of a store late at nite in Central Harlem and a gentleman with three rambunctious children, not looking where he was going, obliquely blindsided me. I apologized. He said, "Blood clot, that not good e-NUF!" I asked him what would be.  With a straight face, he replied, in substance, [not bumping into him in the first place]!... 

I conceded my error in my reply to the Hon. VKurtB, upthread. Have you ever gotten around to citing chapter and verse, as asked, regarding the matter of FedEx insuring numismatic collectibles on that other thread?  I didn't think so.

Posted at the discretion of Moderation.

...sadder still...so classic, text book....

On 3/4/2024 at 8:53 PM, VKurtB said:

West Point? Close.

...not close at all, just more q.a. incessant babble bout things he knows nothing about...no govt minting facility at west point in 1913...west point facility started limited functions in 1937ish....

On 3/3/2024 at 11:41 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

I was shocked. I've never seen a common world coin like this sell for such a large premium based on the toning. I guess the rainbow colors landed a pot of gold for the seller.

...true, a significant premium n as u suspect the toning was a major contributor...but this coin is also very difficult to find with unblemished fields, the wide open spaces usually show every little mark, this is an exceptional example...plus there has been an increased interest in early 20th century italian coins lately....