Henri Charriere

That's easy. By general assent, I am a numismatist. I set the industry standard. Any questions? One at a time, please.

The Staten Island Ferry is FREE. The Brooklyn Bridge is FREE. Whole toll plazas have been eliminated resulting in less accidents due to miscalculated decelerations and unnecessary crowding improving rapid transit. FREE is the way of the future. Wars abroad? No problem. We throw trillions to have others resolve them. There are TPGSs that hold events FREE for members. If my wife and I ride the subway to and fro, that's over $10. right there. Is anyone aware it costs over $30. to ascend to the top of One World Trade, just to take in the sights from the observatory?

If they were made from solid, intricately-carved dark mahogany from Madagasgar, the price of admission would definitely be worth it. 🤣

The wording of my statement was intentional. Not intestinal. 🤣 I did not want to imply certification was preferred or mandatory. But one needs a starting point. For example, if you have an Indian Head Cent, dated 1877, the only question that ought to follow is what grade is it? From there you can get a ball-park figure as to value. Irrespective of personal point of view, to you it may be "priceless," but if you leave the coin to your heirs, there is no starting point in any meaningful conversation without a value and no more indispensable minimal starting point at establishing that than a grade, or, if it gets to that, an appraisal. I appreciate the advice you gave in one column suggesting collectors would do themselves and their heirs a great favor by selling off their possessions rather than leave them to clueless heirs who would be unlikely to derive any semblance of a FMV for their prized possessions. I have two dozen coins to concern myself with. And with spot gold on the rise, I come out ahead if I do absolutely nothing.

Note: May I gently remind all combatants that where the lords of the Chat Board append THE HAND ✋️ beneath a relatively new member's name, we are constrained to receive him or her with a more hospitable response. (No, I am no longer Guest Moderator. I lost that prestigious honorarium under my old User Name.)

The latest is Sam the one-time crypto mogul was convicted of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy and is facing 110 years in the clink.

NGC, NCS and PMG maintain four (4) official submission centers in London, Munich, Shanghai and Hong Kong as well as a global network of authorized dealers in over a dozen countries, eight in mainland Red China alone. By the way, what're the international turn-around times for the various tiers and services for a coin submitted to Sarasota from Sarajevo?

No me! No me! From a simple wooden chair in my kitchen, I managed to assemble what you yourself conceded was an admirable # 1 ranked set without seeing or speaking to any seller and very often without a photo or description of the coin. I did my due diligence and all I needed to know was A- what's the grade? And B- how much? That's it. Nothing more. Howard Hughes had Noah Dietrich and never spoke or appeared in public anywhere until Clifford Irving deluded himself into believing he could write Hughes' authorized biography, and get away with it. WRONG. No way in the world in this day and age one collector's tastes and grading skills have never aligned with another's. I would rather resign my membership than tolerate a hole in my album due to inability to locomote. Would I trust the Great Zadok? Yes, because my faith in him is unconditional. Based on his musings, he has the right stuff! With the globetrotter, I don't know if his in-hand acquisitions are incidental to his travels, or vice versa. 🤔

But what if that is not possible? I don't know to whom your doctor or dentist go when they seek professional help themselves, but surely you must have a go-to person to turn to whose tastes in coins and grading skills align with yours when it is simply not possible to "have it in your hand"?

Statement: If you want to know how much your coin is worth, you must get it professionally graded.

@GoldFinger1969 : Original comment withdrawn. As regarding banknote grading, there are many more of those than there are TPGS, each of which use their own scale and use of descriptors such as EPQ, for Exceptional Paper Quality, followed by a two-digit number.

[Does that mean Clark, Cheney and Van Dyke would have each been asked to adopt a User Name?] Question answered. Each of their first names were deleted a microsecond before I pushed send. Now that's Moderation! 🤣

One more opinion, mine, may be found: last post on last page of "French 20-franc gold roosters," (subject to Moderation's approval). 11/01/2023.

[Keen observation! With GF1969's assent, I shall designate this coin, as hereinabove described, with the highly-coveted attribute of "High-Wire II," the first being the MCMVII double eagle.] 🤣

No, the prevailing practice is to resubmit until you get an opinion you can live with. 😉

You're running out of time. I assume you know its Fair Market Value, about how many were minted, certified, whether others exist in this grade and none others have been graded finer. Don't let someone outbid you at the Finish Line. Place your bid and we can discuss whether yours was a wise decision after the dust clears.

NOTE: Held for review by moderators pending release... If it came to my attention that just one if not more of the specific Roosters I have been looking for were to be made available at NYINC, I would gladly pay the price of admission knowing full well the sales tax on it would likely be seven times the price of admission... as you wrote in one of your earliest posts -- in that case involving complaints about parking fees -- "let's keep things in perspective, people!" 🤣

This just in FWIW... ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LONG-TERM FORECAST... Gold price will hit $2200 by the middle of 2025 and then $2700 by the end of 2026. Gold will rise to $3,000 within the year of 2028, $3500 in 2031 and $4000 in 2033. (Reference: coinpriceforecast.com>gold)

The Gemological Institute has made it virtually impossible to sell or traffick in stolen diamonds or gems. Automakers, gunmakers, airline manufacturers stamp or emboss their products in secret locations. The same mix of forensic scientific signatures can be used to conclusively determine the true provenance and all past and present owners of a coin. It may not happen in our lifetimes, but it is the wave of the future.

LATEST UPDATE received a few moments ago... After making good on my promise to report the seller to eBay and publicize the seller's listing which I found lacked a single redeeming factor [in language I have ample reason to believe our Dena would find objectionable on this Forum] it gives me great pleasure to inform the membership the seller of the 1906 French 20-franc gold rooster NGC-certified with a grade of MS-63 [having previously claimed the FMV of the coin was $875.] announced a revised selling price of $700 from the initially advertised $1,900 -- effectively effecting a 63% price reduction. Note: I credit member Just Bob for the inspiration to expose those whose dishonest business practices reflect poorly on the hobby as a whole.

A much more reliable leading economic indicator is a noticeable surge in the amount of orders placed for wooden pallets. 🤣

You are scrupulously honest. I suppose not many people know much about it and quite a few are oblivious to its critical importance. The census does get updated but it is in desperate need of an overhaul. What else can a collector or dealer rely upon to determine supply and demand? Mintages, for the most part, remain static subject to the discovery of hoards and meltings, many unauthorized as revealed by counts. If the census is to have meaning, it must be accurate.

That is correct. As failure is not an option, there is plenty of time to come up with a viable solution. 🤔

General cold hard question: Are collectors ethically obligated or otherwise duty-bound to return inserts of crack-outs to TPGSs, or has the census become too far askew in the years since to matter? Edit: Introduced as a Topic.

No need to embarrass anyone with this. Nobody is going to stick his neck out. On something like this all you've got to do is say, "lemme get Q,... I mean Henri, on the horn." 🤣 I have never been to a show and don't know if I'll ever be able to -- that's up to the Boss, but let's say she relents, and says, Ok!" I had every intention of going to the NYINC extravaganza last year and the price of admission was twice as much as IMEX. So why didn't I? Because my wife would insist on my being cuffed to her? Nope. Because our globe-trotting camera man might get a shot of me? Nope. Because a show is like a candy shop with many delectable morsels? That's a consideration.. The truth is I investigated who would showcase their Ducats and quickly determined there would be NONE exhibiting my line of coins. If you're going to schmooze and kibbitz, in short, network, that alone is worth the price of admission. But if you're looking for your Holy Grail, ancients and post 1914 moderns, this show doesn't cut it for me... I don't smoke or drink, so why bother? (Besides, I have seen the IMEX advertisements. For that amount of money I'd be better off taking the Boss to go see the Dinosaurs in the museum or spend a day at Coney Island, both of which, admittedly, cost an arm and leg more.)