RWB

Yep. And some books have a lot of key names and topics, which makes a paper index bulky and costly to use.

A 1973 cent has a nominal weight of 3.11+ grams. If the identical coin were made from 90% silver it would weigh 3.64+ grams. If made from aluminum it would weigh 0.93 grams.

I've examined several. The "rankings" are of no importance to me. That is a sales (or ego) subject.

I wonder why NGC and PCGS show the damaged die version and ignore the ones like yours? Also, I did a quick check of other small stars versions and only a small minority were like your coin - most were the messed up version. If the clashing and rust are correct, then the die had to sit unused and unprotected at least for a couple of weeks for the rust to develop.

True -- but the moderators don't make accuracy corrections....these sites just have better informed users. Over the internet the situation is supportive of ignorance and mediocrity.

A fin results from a mismatch between collar and planchet upset. It is not directly related to strike pressure. The force from a toggle press is the same with each blow, unless the spacing wedge is moved.

Bob, I used to feel that way too...and an internal index is certainly more convenient than one that has to be accessed separately from the book. Yet, the problem is index size - literally page count. I made a digital index for an early version of From Mint to Mint with the intent to have it printed in the back of the book. But after cranking away for a while, the computer-generated index was a quarter the length of the book: about 100+ pages of 9pt type. So I switched to a full-text CD. (Had I used a printed index for the final 550 page book, it would have been well over 700 pages.

Well, I don't know.....over the past 20 years it seems that "bad information pushes out good information." At the least, that's been my personal experience with almost everything I've researched and published: the false junk proliferates; possibly because it's so easy, cheap, and superficial.

Is your coin an "original," and the ones shown by NGC and PCGS later restrikes made from clashed and rusted die? (From the photo, your coin seems to be AU55.)

Question - if this was the case, why are other obverse details, including edge of the cap and foot, clear? To uniformly reduce the size of stars, a considerable portion of the field would have to be removed. That would reduce everything in similar proportion. Here's the NGC photo (PCGS is similar) which has the expected loss of low relief detail. This looks very different from your photo, bottom.

Ed Trompeter - no connection to fascists and liars of similar name.

"War Series" cent design is from the description of plastic pieces that were produced. No examples are known to have survived. This is the only true WW-II pattern piece.

Doesn't matter what the slab label says -- it's what your bank account says that counts.

Yep, you're certainly right, there.

I had no input. Heritage handled that by recycling their internal book design.

Polishing was done the same way and the dies always began as ordinary items. A TPG could establish ranges for authentic Master and proof coins based on date if they wished. But I doubt it would make much difference. There are superbly reflective Master coins from the 1830s, and there are dull proofs from the 1890s. It wouldn't matter for PL since they originated incidental to die repair, not intentional mirror-like polishing.

All the UHR $20 are patterns and all were made the same way -- except, the plain edge version did not get the lettered edge strike. Most patterns were made as "proofs" so all of these must be also.

Bill, I recall Boulton made about 1 million into 1805 but with the 1804 overstrike....but my memory might not be accurate. Have you checked the references in John Kleeberg's "The International Circulation of Spanish-American Coinage and the Financing of the Napoleonic Wars." or E. M. Kelly: Spanish Dollars and Silver Tokens. An Account of the Issues of the Bank of England 1797-1816? (Kelly uses mostly secondary sources, however.) Did Doty have additional information in his book Soho Mint and the Industrialization of Money? The Bank of England Archives are open for research and that is likely the best source.

I've explained before -- aim a small laser beam at several spots on the obverse and reverse; measure the coincident reflection contrast (i.e. correlation between beam and reflection); record results. The set-up and calibration is simple --- begin with the highest quality proof, then PL, then lower-PL all according to the TPG's visual opinions. These become the standards for each category of reluctance with appropriate +/- range. Once calibrated the system will evaluate results for each new submission and assign a category of the coin. This is independent of bias and opinion -- except that the original calibration is a representation of opinion. Measurements could be made through plastic slabs, although it would require calibration for each type of plastic and the angle of coin to laser beam. Results will be consistent, repeatable, and objective within system calibration.

I try to tie the cover images to the book's theme and to specific content if I can. In some instances it works and in others it is too subtle or simply not visually distinct. In the following instance, I eliminated everything except the main subject (Anna Williams):

The sadly frustrating part is that technology can eliminate all the guessing and squabbling.

I agree that some will eventually learn -- but they learn to match unstable numbers to indefinite conditions, essentially a no-win situation. A go-to telescope mount is close to automated star-hopping, but with RA and Dec far more accurate than any amateur telescope could show without encoding and digital readout. Also, the target galaxy or star is always at the same coordinates, even during an astronomy "Star Party." In coin grading, the target is always moving because there are no standards, as there are in astronomy.

If it was, why didn't the dealer submit it for regrading? Nope. The fellow with merely "lying and trying" to sell an overpriced coin.

The beginning collector also doesn't bother to learn about grading coins -- and some of the so-called dealers could care less. The present situation also discourages buyers and sellers from making a close examination of coins they handle. Edges get ignored, too.

If you mean for the WW-II pattern book, I did. Jane gave me some suggestions on the final design -- fonts, positioning, etc.