Henri Charriere

On 12/25/2022 at 8:42 AM, World Colonial said:

.....If Garrett gets his wish, the traditional collector is going to get priced out of many coins they previously could afford....,....

🐓 :  IF YOU DECEND INTO MADNESS (... uncle z has long ago said you've exceeded the point of return long ago) AND DABBLE INTO FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP OF COINS, WHICH PART OF ME WILL YOU CHOOSE TO OWN?

Q.A. :  THAT'S EASY... NOT THE GOOD OR BETTER PART, BUT THE BEST PART.  I HAVE TO MINIMIZE MY LIABILITY.  Then again, my disposition changes without notice.  🤣

🐓:  Spot GOLD is $2,420/z as of today, May 17, 2024.

All have my express permission to call this development whatever they will.  🤣

On 11/12/2023 at 9:26 AM, zadok said:

....face value is face value not melt value...just as yesterday i attended a local estate sale there was a small collection/accumulation of coins n currency...the auctioneer stated that all items needed to meet/exceed face value, e.g. there was a bunch of common circulated $2 bills that no one wanted n no bids at face value n the lot was passed ditto rolls of state quarters...

    Pray tell, what if any, is the correlation between this reply to this Topic?    

On 8/19/2021 at 2:43 PM, MarkFeld said:

.... And speaking of “what”, what makes this thread “official”.?

An oldie, but a goody!  🤣

For those for whom such matters are of interest, the spot GOLD price for today, Friday, May 17, 2024 is:  $ 2,420./z

🐓:  The spot silver price as of today, Friday, May 17, 2024 is:  $ 31.48.

The gold melt value of a French 20-francs gold rooster is;  $ 445.88.

To be blunt about it, as silver moves above $30/oz., it is virtually impossible to purchase one -- any date, any condition -- for less than $500., and if you do it is simply because the seller is unaware of the incremental increases in price recently.

🐓 :  Spot SILVER: $31.48., as of today 5/17/2024.  

On 5/12/2024 at 11:51 AM, mlovmo said:

....  The best sources of any coins are (usually) to be found in that country's source language.... 

Truer words have never been written.  There I was sitting at my table one day mulling my options.  It just seemed every search for my F20FR GRs would yield 90% more inapplicable results that I could use, when:   Drawing on the French I learned in high school, I dove in after asking myself which country would most likely have the coins I am interested in: FRANCE... Of course, and the rest is history.

On 5/14/2024 at 11:08 AM, RWB said:

Nice. Is this the "Liberty with black eye" variety? She has quite a welt under her left eye.

But, but... the way she is seated, her left eye is impossible to view. Very lovely coin!  (In the future, I predict any such distractions shall be ameliorated with a technician wielding a laser.)

On 4/5/2024 at 2:35 PM, Rob’s Coins said:

....  No, I’m not going to name products or methods, sorry.  Not in the buisness of generating fakes....

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you I am prepared to make you a very attractive offer for that, er, proprietary elixir to make my boring coins come to life.  If "luster" is one of the things taken into consideration in grading a coin, I want my gold roosters to look their Sunday best.  You understand.  🤣

On 5/17/2024 at 3:50 PM, RWB said:

Donald Trump?   Naw -- the mug shot would have been with Stalin....

You're a good sport, Roger!  I am going to waive the wait period just for you.

That man, now deceased was none other than...

MENACHEM BEGIN, a former Prime Minister of Israel -- and leader of the Irgun.  Mass murderer? Terrorist? Most Wanted Fugitive? Convicted Felon?Ex-convict?  Yes, those things and many more, but also the Sixth Prime Minister of Israel.

Edit;  All of the foregoing facts, with a slew of additional sources, may be found by searching for "Menachem Begin," and the "King David Hotel Bombing" Wikipedia.

(I thank Moderation for allowing me to illustrate .y point that, as is very often, there are many sides to a story.)

Is Gold too High?  No, and speaking for myself, it never will be.  What I am secretly hoping for is "profit-taking."  Collectors cashing out. Malheureusement, for me, the number of certified pieces I require can be counted on one hand, are owned by people of apparently considerable means -- and apparently many other sets.  That's one reason why I chose to attempt to acquire the cornerstone, actually keystone, of my collection.

Incidentally, in the course of my many transactions via PayPal (which is becoming more and more unsavory with constant amendments to their legal "contracts" with you, whether buyer or seller, I discovered overseas sources gave both them and TPGS wide berth. I also found out that "bank wire transfers" (the JP Morgan Chase charge is $50) is NOT instantaneous and can take up to a week or more to transact!  [USPS money orders are for domestic use only and though good for up to $1500., the maximum you buy is $3,000.  If you try a check-cashing place with considerable cash, you cannot transmit it by Western Union to a business w/o a name and street address. Logically, you walk in with a hefty amount of cash, you will be interrogated at length, asked how well you know the person you're sending the money to -- only to be told your transaction is denied.  

Gold too High?  Nope. Not yet.  But I would imagine the owners of all those sets on the various Set Registries -- and our Pallett Man -- are quite pleased.  🤣

@RWB : While my reply may suggest political and religious overtones, the ONLY point I wish to make is:  there are two (and sometimes many more) sides to every story.  I am going to set forth some indisputable facts which I would appreciate your reviewing, followed by a single question and references (which if posted, or moved to "Unsolicited comments," will appear tomorrow, after you, and our armchair historians have had a chance to view it).

● He ordered an attack in 1946 on British military and administrative personnel headquartered at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine which resulted in the destruction of the building's southern wing and the deaths of 91 people, mostly British, Arabs and Jews, soldiers -- and 3 policemen; (46 people were injured.)

●  His face appears on a 1940 prison mugshot I believe taken in Russia; he was born in Belarus.

●  The Palestine Police Force placed him FIRST on its Most Wanted Men list, along with nine others being sought. Throughout the period of unrest, the British MI-5 placed a "dead or alive" bounty of £10,000 on his head.

●  During the 1950's, he was banned from entering the U.K. as the British Government regarded him as "leader of a the terrorist organization -----."

There is much much more but this will suffice and I do not wish to take advantage of Moderation's hospitality.

MY ONLY QUESTION IS:  WHO WAS THIS MAN?

I never fear the worst, but then again, international mail poses seemingly insurmountable problems. I ordered an item from Slovenia, and after fighting sharks rounding Cape Horn the freighter finally chugged in to New York harbor. I guess I lucked out. When certified, five years ago after receipt, it came in as a Top Pop: 2/0.  I vaguely remember the cost was $285 for an Original rooster -- its gold melt as of today is $446.13; its numismatic value obviously twice that -- and while it was packed practically for FREE DELIVERY (a clever euphemism used for SEA MAIL; Last Class Mail in the U.S. -- I had already forgotten about it, immersed in completing my main 16-coin set quickly.

Let us know how you make out. (I don't expect to hear from my seller until well into June.)

On 5/14/2024 at 5:02 PM, RWB said:

Here you go.... Someone paid almost $98,000 for this 1899 cent with average detail. ( 2009 April-May Cincinnati, OH (CSNS) US Coin Auction #1124 / Lot #2091)

Thanks for the mugshot!  That's the guy that exhibits best the features we were looking for.  Can't assign a grade without a face we can compare it with.  🤣

No, not yet here, and won't for another year.  Europe is a different story: when a grade falls squarely within a range of grades, and the cost of certification reverts to submitters, water will seek its own level.

I am afraid I cannot speak for the other continents.

THE RUMOR YOU MAY HAVE HEARD IS TRUE!

I figuratively stabbed my most ardent fan, not to mention my legion of Ignorers, squarely in the back.  How so, you might ask?  Easy.  I sent in my membership renewal... [Upon the advice of counsel, Ricky, 🐓 I sent my remittance in, eschewing crisp currency, for the security of a money order.] There is always the possibility that NGC, having weathered my antics, for years, will refuse to accept it, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.  Now for those not quite satisfied with that explanation I offer you the wisdom of our good friend from the Heart of Dixie who once said:  "I'd rather be RIGHT, than nice." To my knowledge, no one has challenged his fantastic assertion.

With me, I'd rather be fluid and truthful, than consistent and untruthful.  I announced my resignation, and save for the few that got wind of it and urged me not to, no one batted an eye.  So I ask you, gentle reader, what's the point of leaving, if you're not going to be missed?  As Putin, through an interpreter, said to Biden -- who, in substance, had just exclaimed, "I am looking into your eyes, Mr. President, and I do not see a soul," -- "We understand each other exactly."

Readership, we understand each other.

@RWB :  I will have a reply for you shortly.  It is of the utmost importance to me that the membership understand our interaction is cordial, respectful and in all matters, copacetic.

The following comment is nothing less than incendiary and indefensible coming on the heels of my decision to renew my membership, mere hours ago. Consequently, VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED...

Now I know how defense counsel feels when they are put in the untenable position of being assigned to an uncooperative defendant who insists on a suicidal defense and must respectfully ask the Court to beg off the case.

Imprimis, the Topic is misleading. Do you really expect me to defend you against the barrage of "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," which are sure to follow by introducing a fossilized missive, relic as it were, to justify your antiquated thesis in the internet era? Where does one even begin to look for plausible justification?  That was then; this is now. The horse less carriages with running boards are long gone.

"... why our modern coin design and creation is so poor."?  Surely, you jest!  Did the failure of the Tacoma-Narrows bridge in 1940 deter Othmar Amman, and his team of architects, civil and structural engineers (including my father) from determining the cause of the collapse and devise the necessary improvements for a contemplated Verrazzano-Narrows bridge opened in 1964? When's the last time the NTSB begged off a case saying, "Hey, that [Flight 880] lies in waters ten miles off Long Island's south shore." Never happen.  What does then rudimentary state of the art communications, primitive and anachronistic by today's standards, have anything to do with the leaps in technology which have evolved and been implemented since. [The only reason why Macy*s department store has retained sections of their original wooden escalators is to retain a certain charm and ambiance the public finds enchanting.]

For a highly acclaimed writer who insists, unceasingly, to maintain objectivity to depart from d3corum by injecting an offensive and personal character assassination on one incapable of defending himself is inexcusable and downright unconscionable.

(Posted at the discretion of Moderation; I am prepared to accept my punishment.)

There are three (3) different categories for the St. Gauden's Double Eagle series on the SET REGISTRY.

Clearly, EliteCollection is the main contender ranking # 1 in two of them, the one shared with some 841 other set registrants. He has accumulated a staggering 657,255 points on just one of them alone! It is all laid bare for anyone so inclined to view.  It is an outstanding accomplishment.  Knowing his unique '33 would not be featured, he graciously acceded to a popular members request to post it on one of the Double Eagle threads, as members/viewers/guests may recall.

This brings me to the matter of one of the seven questions, unrelated to EC.

The RWB SG DE thread is 4 years old now.  It is comprised of well over 2,500 posts spread over 87 [cell] pages. It is overseen by @GoldFinger1969 who has also set up parallel gold threads.

But if one could muster up the audacity to ask anyone which of the over 1,000 sets is his, one is met with a blank stare. I do not believe he has ever mentioned it which begs the question is he simply an admirer, an academic or collector. One noted member once rhetorically asked: "Obsessed"?  There was no reply.  

On 5/9/2024 at 11:33 AM, zadok said:

...its simple...folks just dont need to know everything there is to know bout the availability or sources of coins...numismatics is not a community help program....

Just another in a string of "none of anyone's business" logorrhea.  Come to think of it, you'd be the perfect participant on the P--- Set Registry where an inordinate number of people post their sets anonymously -- you don't know who they are, what their set looks like and there is no way to contact them. Now I know why you were bestowed the honor of President of the Anti-Social Social Club. In the end, no one will be surprised when, despite the incessant boasting, bragging and name-dropping, all you've ever had was that stone from Yap. Funny how those types gravitate to the "competitive sets" site. Contrary to MM's parting shot, I do have my big boy's pants on. I couldn't care less about death or the IRS. My wife? There's enough room to hide from her under my table. After all, I Am a Man.  

On 5/14/2024 at 11:44 AM, zadok said:

...most collectors just want the coins n dont really care where they came from or how they got made or which mule carried which bag or ore down the mountain...

Obviously, I cannot speak to the motivations of other collectors, but I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I never met any collector of the female persuasion who was not curious as to which mule carried which bag or ore down the mountain. I mean, that's pretty basic stuff.  Also, though she may not be consciously aware of it, Penny, Charmy's pet is a critical component of her sales' strategy. In fact most collectors would inquire, "Hey, where's Penny?" first before they'd ask her about some quadrupled-die obverse Lincoln she may have picked up somewhere in her travels...   🤣

On 5/15/2024 at 8:15 PM, Rob’s Coins said:

I can’t say that I’ve willfully and trustingly sent money to a person in faith that they will send me the product.   I have sent coins to NGC and optioned out of the insurance.  A sizable $ package for my comfort but I hate insurance….  😒.  The things I could buy if I had all my insurance money back!!

Don't feel bad.  A postal clerk once confided in me that the Tracking Number is key.  My problem was devising a sensible approach to problem-solving. Why would anyone insure, or send certified with a tracking number, a plain old greeting card, and if so, for how much without drawing the very attention you are seeking to avoid? 

You did the right thing. I believe speed is important (First Class/Priority Mail) packing things properly for shipment is important -- and that tracking number is important.  

I continue to stand firm on my initial MS-67 assessment.  If this were a PROOF, someone well-versed in this series would have to explain the presence, on Liberty's upper thigh, of the four (4) equally-spaced "dots" rendered NW to SE, as well as the clearly identifiable mark best described as a symbol of freemasonry. This was no inadvertent PMD. Both are precise and distinctive. NOTE: I would not have shelled out $1.37 MM for this coin as I believe it to be prohibitive. 🤣

On 5/14/2024 at 11:54 PM, bartlesvilleok said:

Been looking for this one for a while. While I still have one more to go (1813) for a  complete 1 per year set of capped bust half's. I almost Consider it complete as this one is much harder to get then the 1813

Very impressive set! (Yeah, I cheated and looked.) 🤣  Set Registrants are notoriously incommunicado. The # 1 ranked guy's got the '13 you're looking for, having upgraded his former one which is sitting around doing nothing. The "gradeline" you've chosen, I feel, makes your set attractive.  EF for Extra Fine effort!  

On 5/15/2024 at 7:30 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

Wow, that cabinet looks impressive. Wonder if they'll be auctioning that off as well? 

Auctioneer to top bidder:  "And the cabinet?  Would the gentleman be interested in placing a bid on this one-of-kind, custom cabinet?"

Top bidder:  "Certainly not!  Surely you must be familiar with the term 'cabinet friction'?"