Henri Charriere

I keep my money in money orders. I have yet to meet someone who has told me that's the most self-defeating concept they have ever heard. They mention things like loss of buying power while engaging in gorging on their far superior conspicuous consumption sprees. But then I think of the Hunt Brothers, Bernie Madoff, heavyweight fighters, drug kingpins doing LWOP, John Durst who never quite made it, some guy named Dupont--even Leona Helmsley. Incidentally, How's that guy Murdaugh doing in South Carolina? I have my U.S.P.S. money orders which boast no expiration date. What have they, and millions of others got? I have yet to meet someone who can explain crypto currency in a literate penetrable semi-secret crypto-talk. I am given to boasting my net worth is zero. Nothing affects the quality of my life. I do think about the disappearing Monarchs, the depletion of the world's oceans of fish by 90%, and melting of glaciers and both Poles. But I am 72. I'll let the whippersnappers attending the finest schools in the world, buried up to their eyeballs in student debt worry about meaningless things like what to have for lunch and who the next president of the United States ought to be. Luckily for me, I'm dead broke without a care in the world. 🤣

I have an uncanny ability to recognize the clear loud ring of the bell after The Truth has been spoken. Since this necessarily requires the ponderous passage of time, it may be unlikely those who heard it and dismissed it out of hand will be around to be told, I told you so! My net worth may be zero, but my instincts are intact. I believe every word uttered from the mouth of member W.C., unaccompanied by fanfare, is the unvarnished truth. I believe I know the membership well enough and better than most but enough to say what you've said -- and the principles you continue to espouse, though seemingly unappreciated now, shall come to fruition and I, and a few others will smile and mutter, He was right and way before his time!

You sure that's a '69?

Every innovative endeavor requires time (and advertising to develop.) The market will decide the fate of this upstart.

The British youth have developed a bad reputation for lack of discipline and the exercise of simple, common everyday proper etiquette for visitors abroad. As for New York, it is virtually impossible to distinguish a native New Yorker from the millions who reside and visit here. (The only "column" I am aware of is the one stolen from Egypt and erected behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art called "Cleopatra's Needle").

One of the lesser known facts is Kew Gardens [in Queens, N.Y.] is where Jerry Springer was from. Helen Keller, Captain Kangaroo, Simon & Garfunkel, The Ramones (and Quintus Arrius) were all brought up one neighborhood over in Forest Hills, next door. It is alleged Q.A. put the education he attained there to good use. 🤣

When I see a coin a collector is interested in, I put myself in his place and ask myself, Now, what would you do? First off, I don't like nice, round, even numbers such as those which abound on sites like eBay and Etsy. Secondly, directly above the unjustifiable high price is a word, Condition, followed by a long blank. If this coin with a reference to Breen [plate] member RWB has repeatedly expressed his distaste for, if not allergic reaction to, is one and the same, a Red Flag is raised. I did a little research. Thirdly, the coin's residence in the country's premier gambling location is of little comfort. Fourthly, many of the 35-plus thousand half cents are not exactly hard to locate and, as far as I am concerned, Proofs of which 220 were minted does not apply here. If it did, that aforementioned empty space above the price would have been filled in accordly. The average Half Cent, true to member NN's word, expressed elsewhere on another thread, averages $115. UNC's go for $465. BU's (MS-63) go for $738 and Proof (63) go for $5844, which the coin in question evidently is not. There is an oblique reference to coinappraiser.com. The fact there is no "Or Best Offer" provision does not deter me. I have routinely made outlandish cuts in price of my own transmitted under Contact Seller. I simply casually point out coins I have seen or already have and politely suggest the owner's price is out of line. I am unacquainted with your Half Cent collection but if this oddly described example is something you simply want though not necessarily in that condition (remember, it is NOT circulated) I would pass on it. I trust that you will make the right decision drawing on your many years of experience in this area. If after cursory inquiries you find the price to be par for the course, I would insist on a written appraisal from a reputable source of your choosing. Hopefully, members so inclined, may choose to add their two cents. I thank the OP for allowing me to have my say on what is essentially a thread to post one's SP coins.

The guy who snagged this got it comin' right outta the chute! Nice catch!

It looks like Dole has the currency shtick locked down. Me? I am going to sticker my slabs with Chiquita brand bananas. I have no idea how collectors will feel about them, but the Guatamalan migrants up here will love 'em. The Germans have their own tradition as do the French, but there aren't too many around where I live. For the Mexicans, it's THE THREE KINGS CAKE / LA ROSCA DE REYES. I'll stick a small denomination Mexican Banknote to the traditional stacked cake with a Mexican sticker attached. You know what they say, "Are you a Mexican, or a Mexican't?. On Three Kings Day, on the first Week of January, I'll be a MEXI-CAN! Adios amigos! 🤣

I'd trade our non-stop chanting, saffron-robe wearing, incense-burning Hare Khrishnas for your quieter, more dignified Druids any day of the week. 🤣

It's a one-shot deal. Perfect for someone like me who knows exactly he's looking for and doesn't allow himself to get distracted. Not exactly the perfect patron -- except to the dealer who just happens to have precisely what I need. Of course, if an upgrade materializes, I become an indentured servant all over again. 🤣

Sorry if I offend anyone, but I am going to call this a "cop-and-go" show. Your marketing survey must have suggested there is a demand for this type of extravaganza beyond the city limits. To RWB: Silly as it may seem, commas have been dispensed with joining periods in acronyms abandoned years ago. The New York Marriott is in Times Square. Its kid brother in east midtown is simply called the Marriott East. A reader asked the New York Times what happened to the periods in acronyms like F.B.I., D.E.A., and C.I.A., and was told they cost money to print. True story. I believe most viewers a hundred years younger than you 🤣 are no longer aware that some words actually stand for names or even why acronyms like laser and radar are no longer capitalized and appear in lower-case letters. How many people even know what a.m. and p.m. in time mean, or what the A.M. and F.M. dial on radios stand for? Good luck with the coin show!

Gentlemen: If there is a better time than now to throw kerosene into the fire, I cannot think of any. Accordingly, I should like [once again] to direct the attention of the congregation to three related matters... One, a reminder that all extant examples of the 1913 Liberty Head V-nickels, regardless of provenance, are still being referred to as Specimens (among other things). Two, overseas, PCGS has graded two 1899 French 20-franc Gold Roosters as "SP-63," which I believe is to be understood as SPlendide, an official French grade encompassing all coins graded the U.S. equivalent of from MS-63 to MS-64. (Unless an overlooked typo, the Italians use SPL, or SPLendido, inconcongruously, for coins grading from AU-55 to MS-62, and again, seamlessly from MS-63 to MS-64 as reflected by the U.S. equivalents. There has been an SP-65 graded by PCGS for a French Piedfort Essai, but that designation for a French 20-franc Gold Rooster conforms to no known scale devised by man anywhere on the face of the Earth. Carry on!

Respectfully, there is a simple, plausible explanation for that: you don't have any. 🤣

Never knew there was a market for these. 🤔

I don't know if they use the term piedfort (strong foot) to describe this or not, but it would be good to determine the composition which I suspect may be bronze. Probably one of the thicker tokens ever posted on this thread. It exudes scarcity. Great find!

To the OP: Not to belabor this any more than necessary, but "Houston, we've got an [intractable] problem." The gentleman who harangues us -- any by extension, the rest of the captive audience -- has prevailed in every "argument," i.e., exchange of thoughts he's had with all comers. I relish every such encounter which can occur at any time because with each such back-and-forth he inadvertently reveals a little more of himself. Unfortunately, all comes to naught because tho he has but two followers he has never experienced a check, or check-mate. He has never contradicted himself. He has never been proven wrong. He is a contender. And a survivor having endured the Forum for five tempestuous years [which has seen me banned permanently three times.] Your predicament is not unique. There is enough wiggle room in grading and submissions to drive a Mack truck through with ease. Your submission is safe and sound. Before you know it, it will be winging its way back home to you. I chalk it all up to yet another enduring mystery of life. NGC monitors these boards. I would not be surprised at all if your order is expedited.

Me, too!

1794

Looks like I'm automatically excluded on a technicality: I have never laid eyes on a French 20-franc gold rooster that wasn't in Mint State condition. My theory on the ones that didn't make the grade is a collector's hope that one would. The census is replete with shattered dreams. We all know what certifications cost but with Rooster melt hovering at $350 a troy ounce, owning one is never a losing proposition. I hope someone posts something here that dispels the notion that a low-ball is worthless, or formal certification uneconomical. This promises to be a great thread!

That's addlePation (with a "p.") Inapplicable here. I hold you in the highest regard. Now, back to the topic at hand... What if you are seized with an irresistible compulsion to have your example from Yap submitted only to learn it had been smashed to smithereens? I would like to see the kinder, gentler you when conversing with members whose submissions have gone awry. (Anything can be holdered; museums do it all the time.)

@Conder101 : Your reply literally drips with incontestible "insider knowledge," an effective come-back to which I do not have. Am I to believe I am to disregard the 1966 as prominently displayed on the obverse, front and bottom, and conduct a scavenger hunt for the date amongst the galaxies? What about, "The fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves." (I may not be permitted to call you Mighty Conder anymore, but there is definitely a greatness about you. Another big ➕️ for NGC for having you!)

'Twasn't a sovereign or Tuppence. More likely a Guinea or Half Guinea, if that lesser denomination exists. Just cannot recall but remember she bit into it and was all excited in that charming cockney way. Thanks.

[That saying did come to mind, but something far more significant occurred to me... I believe I am the only member in NGC's long and storied history to single-handledly manage to wrangle the first, and possibly only, upper-case letter from you with little or no effort. You continue to shower me with undeserved adulation and I am humbly gratified.]

Understood.