zadok

Just 2 fleeting thoughts...
1.  @powermad5000 :  pray tell, where did you get this fantastical notion that you don't have to explain yourself to anyone?  Tell ya what, we're gonna leave you cuffed to the wall.  When you're ready to talk turkey, give us a holla.
2.  @cladking : I regret to inform you that those of us who remember exactly where we were when Kennedy got shot, had options.  Most of us began collecting from change. Those born post 9/11 are from an alien culture and speak a strange tongue. Absent real coins (you know, with silver and copper, not just copper mascara) in change, they will collect whatever they can get their hands on. Modern is all they've ever known and that's what they're going to collect. Truth be told, I feel sorry for them. So sorry, in fact, that despite the fact the bank teller was  glad the 12 rolls I picked up at a bank that got tired of looking at them with no takers, I took and gave all 120 to young people who had never even known they existed, ancient women trying to eke out an existence collecting recyclables, check-out clerks, migrants (for good luck) and criminals... with a warning:  Listen closely,  Spend it or lose it and bad luck will follow you for the rest of your life.  My collecting days are over.  One -- and I'm done! You can quote me on that.

EXTRA!   EXTRA!   Hear all about it...
My army of fans will be delighted to hear I tore through all my leather-bound calendar/diary/record books and found an entry dated September 30, 2011, and photo entitled, "This gold bar shown here last week in Nanjing, China (yes that Nanjing, formerly known as the infamous site of what has come to be known as the Nanking Massacre 1937) weighs 99.999 kilograms and has a purity of 99.999 percent."
MEMBERSHIP:  Hold on a minute!  What's this weigh in troy ounces and what's this worth in USD?
🐓:  To quote the late, great Oldhoopster:
"Go look it up!" 
(Alright, alright... Hint: as of this writing, just one kilogram of gold is valued at $77,338.17.  You may multiply that figure by 100.)
(I thank our Grandmaster, RWB, for his cooperation in graciously allowing me to keep the Topic active pending release of the upcoming article, and the Moderators for posting the foregoing at their discretion.)
Man, I love this place!  🤣
 

I have only two holed coins in my collection, one being the rare 1795 "3 leaf" half dollar (O-111) about which I wrote a topic a while back. See HOL(E)Y THREE LEAVES! - US, World, and Ancient Coins - NGC Coin Collectors Chat Boards. The other is an 1865-S half dime with AU details for which I recall paying $2 as a teenager back in the 1970s. These are also quite difficult to find in any decent grade. I had a few others as a young collector but sold them for very little long ago.
   A hole is obviously a severe impairment, and a holed coin, in my opinion, should only be worth a fraction (well under half) of an unimpaired example with equivalent detail. The "investor" and "connoisseur" sorts of collectors are unlikely to consider holed coins. In my opinion, they are only worthwhile as "fillers" for coins one couldn't otherwise find or afford, such as my "holey" three leaf Flowing Hair half dollar.
   
 

To my my most faithful and devoted fan  @zadok , and the membership-at-large...
1.  z:  be assured you will be reimbursed for disabling your "sad" emoji which saw more action than the Marines at Iwo Jima;
2.  I was diagnosed as a "Danny Downer" by the OP. Sandon was elevated to "Rocket Scientist" which effectively supersedes his status as "Newbie."
3.  All kindly note my contribution to broadening the "body of knowledge": The "Q" in Q-tip stands for Quality.
4.  Contrary to the OP's claim, two photos of the "washed-out" FEC remain. Seek and ye shall find.
5.  Acetone, one of the most common and effective liquids used to rinse powdered cocaine, is banned for export to coca-leaf producing countries by the USG, and remains on its list of prohibited precursor products.
6.  Acetone... prolonged exposure to its toxic fumes in enclosed areas without adequate ventilation is the reason why workers of primarily Asian owned nail salons are plagued by headaches, dizziness, memory-loss and ultimately brain damage (as reported in a paper of record.);
7.  Whatever the justification for its use, as with clothing and accessories, it is always best to apply acetone on sample coins of equal composition and quality but lesser value first. The OP crows his FEC looks fine, notably using a term no one else has:  "washed-out";
8.  "Wrong" is rude and disrespectful. Only Kurt is allowed to use that  descriptor. (You can only be insulted or become angry, if you allow yourself to be.  That is why z and me get along swimmingly well. Besides, he's obliged to defend Oldhoopster's honor. I understand.);
9.  Post left blank.
10. @ Idhair:  I did, in fact, accept your offer to "teach me," but moderation thought the better of it.
(Posted at the discretion of Moderation, with my express assent.)

Also, all you Danny Downers never even mentioned the fact that the black smudges and other debris was removed from the coin. Everyone wants to be the teacher or the master. You sound silly saying this process is bad when the positive evidence is right in front of your eyes. Classic NGC chat trolls.

Those were already there before the q tip touched it and I'm not talking about proof coins here. If a proof needs to be acetone cleaned its junk to begin with. You know as well as I do this is a proper method used all over the world by professional numismatists/ conservationists...If you say otherwise your full of it and think you're a know it all.

Hey Rocket Scientist 100% pure Acetone is nail polish remover.  If you don't know that then your "advice " is a bit suspect. Don't listen to ID he's wrong and doesn't know what he is talking about. This process is done all the time to coins. It's perfectly fine. 

What you fail to take into consideration is the public's memory is fleeting with a short attention span. Cases in point: the two men and sixty some odd others who made transatlantic crossings in 1919 -- yet Lindberg's name is the only one remembered.  Quintus Arrius is a figment of someone's imagination on the numismatic forums of NGC and yet he (and his sidekick) who never existed in real life will be longer remembered than Farrah whose claim to fame is a single photo as a pin-up lady.    

...and yet Farran will be long remembered in numismatic conversations long after many of our current "numismatic pundits" r long forgotten....

If I may I should like to respond, helpfully.  To my knowledge, this topic had been addressed on two prior occasions.  Why those members, who got valid responses and do not appear to be interested in sharing them with another member, is beyond me.
All I can say is each TPGS has its own criteria and classification system.. Since it is not possible to view your set, formally, on a Set Registry, I cannot render a conclusion without doing a little comparison shopping.
***   ***
A 1933 SG DE is out there somewhere. There are 3 types of such.sets on the West coast, and EC, its owner, ranks # 1 in two. Focusing on the Type 3, With Motto, MS, 1908-1933, there are 844 of 2500+ sets, and he has accumulated 657,255 points. Here is the forbidden question: How many points was his coin, an MS-65, awarded? (Yes, this is a trick question made trickier by the fact one of the two TPGS notes: "15-20 known.")
I Iike sets that hew to the same grade line. My 🐓  set, presently ranked # 7, at MS-66, is not possible to complete because the grade I arbitrarily chose is not available for half the earlier dates. (As noted by the distinguished numismatist, z, this does not mean they do not exist; they simply have not been certified and hence, do not appear on any population/census report.)
I wish I knew the answer to your question but the fact is there are a multiplicity of factors considered beyond date and grade. Some are "Top Pop," rarity/scarcity, and, irrespective of all those, whether your set(s) are complete. I could have "completed" both sets if I had the guts to waive the self-imposed, 66-or-else requirement, and more importantly, if the East coast-West coast (factions) combatants had a sit-down and resolved there differences amicably allowing the inclusion of their competitor's World Gold coins in their respective Set Registries.
🐓  : Thanks for not BUMPING this post!

Relying solely on my certified negative three (-3) I.Q. and wary of the OP releasing a daisy cutter over my already rublle-strewn neighborhood, I should like to put this matter to rest as the Attica Commission noted 50+ years ago, "firmly and with finality."
I say more evidence has been produced in support of the case of the existence of an "SMS" set than has been produced for the Loch Ness fella.
What don't we know about them other than some members violently disagree with the usage of the designation? Nothing. Now if you commit the ultimate sacrilege and break up a set formerly in its OGH, sorry, but all bets are off. (I do not know if Sandon has ever engaged in such conduct personally, but speaking with authority that discourages debate, I would be inclined to accept his word unchallenged.)
This topic has been bandied about long enough. That decision, ultimately, however, is Flying Al's to make.

...ill just wait for the movie...n see who stays for the credits....

...fortunately there isnt enuf space on cert labels for footnotes....

...i should have stated circulating PM coins n not non-PM coins...yes morgans in my book r legal tender coins u could spend them for face value still....

...GF hypothesized double or triple jump...i think definitely cause common circ non-PM coins move on those numbers, morgans bumped up several dollars last week....

...yes both will go up but not proportionally...the recent jump in silver drove up the price on common circ morgans  by 20-25% the jump in gold affected common circ gold by a lesser %....which would be expected

Welcome to the NGC chat board.
  I doubt that it would be possible to determine what certification number this coin previously had if you don't have and can't retrieve the label. If this coin is rare and distinctive enough, you might be able to match it to its photo in an auction or other sale when it was in the NGC Ancients holder and determine the certification number that way.
  The removal of the coin from the holder negated the grading guarantee, such as it is, and there is no guarantee of authenticity for ancients. See Guarantee for Ancient Coin Grading | NGC (ngccoin.com).  You would have to resubmit the coin to get it back in a holder and would receive a new certification number.

*I* jingle when I walk.

...but does it jingle when u walk?....

...there r no standards in collecting...just guidelines established by the different organizations...what n how anyone collects stamps, coins rocks etc is purely a personal choice, no one needs to conform to any standards to establish what they want to collect n how they choose to pursue that collection...

...gold is never too high nor too low to buy...its just how much u pay for it at the time of purchase....

I listen to you because you deal with this on a daily basis.  Even a "Rising Star" like me, here only 5 years (with jail time credit for that trip to Vladivostok, courtesy NGC)  🤣 understands mortality and borrowed time. My advice to those in my predicament (70 years, and older) is get down to brass tacks to avoid unanticipated developments which, fortunately for you, would be beyond your understanding.  I am not a doctor so I cannot help you, except give you advice: seek out a money manager -- and look both ways before you cross the street.

🐓:  I hope the OP doesn't mind, but ----
Q.A.:  ----  I AM THE OP... speak up!
🐓:  I don't get why that was the "wrong answer." You yourself said without him watching from the wings, you're nothing. And French petit fours are pastries!  What's that got to do with anything?
Q.A.:. I have no idea.  Strut around and see what you can find out.  Right now I've got that greeting card on my mind. If it doesn't go thru, Uncle z's premonition comes true.  No more forum! No more chatboard! No more nothing!  It's back to a Hard-Knock Life!
🐓:  Your wish, sire, is my command.  (I hope he knows what he's doing...)
 
 

Not exactly.  What you have managed to do is refresh my recollection that it was fun at one time and that was in my youth, seemingly a century ago.
So what changed everything?  Lots of things. Collecting was much simpler years ago.  You went out and bought a coin album and filled it with coins found In change. You basically can no longer do that. When silver was withdrawn from circulation, it was replaced with play money: clads, and the ultimate insult: proof clads. As far as I am concerned, anything that is not real -- the once proud Lincoln cent with wheat ears, quarters vending machines would never rejectt, the entire dollar coin series beginning with an overbearing Ike, half dollars which are not made for circulation and aerial anachronisms like two-dollar bills that are interesting to own but no shopkeeper has a space for in their tray -- has no collector value.  Ever drop one of the newfangled coins on the floor? No pleasant ring. Only a thud. Instant validation that you do not have the "real thing." As with anything else, there are exceptions.
Then to revitalize the market, TPGS sprung up. A scaling system was adopted.  On the Mint State side, extreme distictions arose and with them, values. So we all have brand-new coins, but "mine is better than yours -- and in many instances, worth twice as much as yours. Yeah, barrels of fun.
My feeling about MS-69s differs from yours.  To me, it represents nothing more than an A-minus on a school report.  It implies "it's better than most, perhaps, but not best. Quiet is kept, I would just as soon settle for a low-ball that is accepted for what it is and has become.
Registry Sets are fine until the upgrading fever gets the better of you.  I canceled my subscription to Heritage Auctions when they sent me a notification that fully 13 coins met my WANT LIST requirements. (I collect one of eleven of the French 20-francs series.)  What they sent me were coins from other countries bearing standard catalog numbers which bore no resemblance to mine and the ultimate insult: lower mint state grades.  There are only a few places in the world that sell top shelf coins in my series, so I notify them, and sit back and wait.
Fun?  Fun is Coney Island. You know who's going to have a barrel of laughs? All the Ignorers, doubting Thomas's and Debbie downers who find out I stuffed U.S. currency into an envelope, stuck a stamp outside and mailed it without knowing if the item will be in stock when it gets there from someone I never met, spoke to or sent a previous text to. I am a risk-taker and although a dozen things can go wrong, one or two may, and my many detractors will savor the experience of seeing me laughed right off the Forum. Yep, collecting is a lot of fun...

This is an example of the epitome of numismystique
My crime is I have STEPPED on toes.
You have BUMPED threads ( and others have begun to do so, too.)
Seriously, there is method to their madness.
Malheureusement, separating rhyme from  reason is not one of my stronger points. (That sounds a whole lot better than saying I failed STATISTICS six times in a row... consecutively.)