Henri Charriere

There are members with sufficient "institutional memory" to give you the forthright answer you seek to your question, but I regret I am not one of them. Maybe some day, someone will post a topic along the lines of, If the ANA were yours to run, what would you change in the first 30 days? What would you do differently?

I do not know if it is or isn't but there are euphemistically acceptable ways of getting around such minor irritants, like motives.

First and foremost, congratulations on your achievement! (Q.A. and his sidekick, Ricky, were similarly impressed and send their regards from Vladivostok.) I have taken the liberty of viewing your set, the first I have seen with a genetic melding of two prominent acronyms. Irrespective of how the coins in my series is defined by the respective TPGS, grafting and miscegenation of world gold coins, is expressly forbidden. My understanding of NGC's Set Registry is limited. Would your point score be higher if you'd've cross-graded your coins (at admittedly great cost) or did the change of slab policy make your job easier? I don't have that luxury. Lastly, while not exactly a lifetime effort, regardless of final disposition, do you have any preference as to whether your collection remains intact with whomever inherits or buys it, or does it that matter to you in light of the time and effort you have invested in your respective compilations? You may regard yourself as a Neophyte, generally, but where braided half cents are concerned I am sure there are things about these coins one can only become uniquely knowledgeable about including reliable sources, what the French quaintly call frappe totals (mintages) and the true availability of real-time scarcity of the various preservation states. Great achievement! P.S. I thank Moderation for extending me the privilege of expressing my thoughts in this post.

I find it hard to believe not one of Los Chapitos, the sons of El Chapo, expressed an interest In assembling a world-class compilation of those massive, gorgeous 50-peso 1.2 oz gold coins. It is a shame none [reportedly] cultivated a taste for the finer things in life and in Mexico that giant coin would certainly rank high on any sicarios list of must-haves. Now, with the multi-count indictments that have just been handed down in multiple jurisdictions... gold pesos? Pffft!

None of the three men involved were of the Caucasian persuasion and I somehow just can't picture GF being the getaway driver of a white Acura. 🤣

This is a lot easier said than done. My own experience has been they are promptly returned to the customer by the merchant or "check cashing" place to which it was passed. The link provided by the OP is instructive in this regard. It states in pertinent part that "it is not illegal for someone to simply possess the fake cash. It becomes "unlawful" when they try to use it and pass it off as authentic currency for goods or services." Regarding U.S. currency all of which, to my knowledge, is produced at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing plants in Washington, D.C. and Fort Worth, Texas, the following terminology may be instructive. "Straps" are comprised of any denomination bundled together with colored band consisting of 100 notes. A strap of 100 $1. notes would be worth $100. A strap of $100. notes would be worth $10,000. A "brick is comprised of 40 "straps" containing 4,000 notes of any denomination. And finally, a "cash pack" is comprised of 4 "bricks" containing 400 "straps" of 16,000 notes, of any denomination, which are shrink-wrapped in distinctive blue plastic by the BEP before being distributed to the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. Rarely disclosed, and by way of example, 5 "cash packs" weigh 44 lbs. each, for a total of 220 lbs., regardless of denomination. If they were comprised of 100-dollar bills, they would each be worth $1.6 million for a total of $8 million.

It all depends on your primary source of information: The Daily News, The New York Post or The New York Times. I read everything I can get my hands on, on-line dispatches, listen to the radio and watch the news. New York City is nothing like it once was. Bad p.r.? "The only thing we have to fear... is fear itself."

For the information and edification of members who take for granted where you stand on Set Registries and Registrants, I have spent the better part of an hour* trying to find an incriminating tidbit as to where the OP stands on the issue, and found it! "I AM WORKING ON ONE REGISTRY SET THAT I HAVE BEEN KEEPING PRIVATE." For those so inclined, I direct your kind attention to the Topic: "AU-59: MYSTERY SOLVED," and the complete post for context as recorded for posterity dated September 7, 2021. *my bill for research hours expended will be in the mail. 🤣

FALSE NEWS! 🤣

Unreported in print until yesterday, Heritage Auctions' New York office on tony Park Avenue -- only blocks from former President Trump's abode, down two blocks from Stack's & Bowers and just around the corner from Brigandi's -- was burglarized in an early morning theft by three men in a brazen "smash and grab" which netted them eight (yes, 8) Hermes-brand handbags reportedly worth nearly a quarter-million dollars. One would assume the showroom were outfitted with bullet- or shatter-resistant windows but they were not and CCTV recorded the swift intrusion and casual theft, the footage and reporting of which was presumably delayed for investigatory reasons since the incident occurred at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7th. [To seasoned veteran @VKurtB: New York City crime is down. One is not to draw the unwarranted inference that such an intermittent series of such occurrences constitutes a crime wave or otherwise poses a threat to the safety of visitors and residents.] 🤣

🤔

Grade inflation is one thing, but what about the panoply of ambiguous grades, many faced by the world coin collector who expects dealers to adhere to "defined" preservation standards? Advertised presently on ma-shops is a coin described as "SUP / BU." For the unacquainted, SUP, or Superbe, is defined by the French as "from AU-55 to MS-62". [SPL, or Splendide (MS-63 and MS-64) was disregarded completely as was FDC (MS-65-MS-70)]. [BU, interestingly, is defined generically as Brillant (pronounced bree-YANT) Universal and in English as Brilliant Uncirculated. PCGS further refines the distinctions as, Choice UNC (63-70) GEM UNC and GEM BU (65-70). NGC uses BU (60-62) CHOICE BU (approx 63-64) SELECT BU (64) GEM BU (65) CHOICE-GEM--SUPERB (67 or even 67; "best of the best". Whew! I requested a clarification from the German selling a French coin on a German site but doubt I will get one. The easier thing to do is bide one's time until a less inquisitive buyer shows up and then pronounce the case moot, the piece: SOLD. So, in light of the foregoing, where does Sandon's exquisite Indian fall? In light of @RWB's steady drumbeat of remarks made over the years, your guess is as good as mine. [Note: I believe NGC makes clear that collectors may not hold them to the grades they assign to coins because all are opinions subject to varying interpretations.]

The membership cares and listens to everything. Before I joined, I had never heard the term "cabinet friction" or such-and-such series' dates were always notably weak strikes. Or, some series are graded differently. There are a few members with considerable experience and are a repository for "institutional experience." We read and remember what they say because their numbers are always diminishing. One reason why I could reject outright one MS-67 is because, though I need it desperately, it doesn't measure up in any way, shape or form to the handful of others I have and whose features I am intimately familiar with. The shame is I can provide the proof with a simple side by side photo comparison--but re-grading it accurately is going to cost someone a lot of money. You yourself are a Lincoln cent collector. It stands to reason that with the time and investments you've made you may be considered very knowledgeable if not a downright expert. Everyone knows Roger speaks the truth but the truth, very often, is at odds with the party line, prevailing opinion, and is unpleasant because deep down the avid reader know he's right. Why? Because everything he says is premised in common sense. It takes intestinal fortitude to come right out, go against the grain, and make the kind of controversial statements he is known for. Unless there is a plausible explanation or exception, the truth though it may be uncomfortable, is irrefutable.

Excellent presentation! I believe this to be the first time I have ever seen such a certificate or knew of its existence. I don't have any "thoughts on this situation," but do wish to direct the reader's attention to the careful distinction ANACS makes as set forth in the line, "in addition to the "numerical grades" several subjective factors of personal preference could be considered differently by others, and may have a direct value on value. (Emphases mine.) These include.... toning...." This is a fine recitation of the facts. I am delighted your coin merited a monumental grade elevation but I believe anyone feasting their eyes on this delectable morsel would agree this is one special very deserving piece.

I don't know if it is due to arrogance, ignorance or possibly laziness----and I certainly don't want to offend anyone, but I am inclined to accept all of the OP's inferences and interpretations of the evidence he has provided and thank him for taking the time and trouble of presenting his "variety discoveries" to the membership. My only [rhetorical] question is: has this matter never been brought up before by anyone in the past forty years since these coins rolled off the assembly line?

Well done. Very well done. Congratulations!!!

To be fair about it, would it be safer to say the HE dies were reportedly at the Philadelphia Mint's die vault, as of [mm/dd/yr]? A bit off topic but how often are the contents of the various mint's chambers audited?

A "Keyence" was mentioned along with the fact that "they are very expensive... even to rent."

As valid an observation today, well into the New Year, as the day it was written. And, if I may add, its counterpart holds true as well: the worst time to buy also tends to be when you're in a big hurry. That's why collectors are urged to do their due diligence. This cannot be stressed often enough.

I am going to fight the impulse to ask what prompted you to make this inquiry now after all these years. On anti -counterfeits, of which you are a card-carrying member, the late great Oldhoopster, speaking for the congregation with sepulchral awe stated, in so many words... While not exactly classified, making such inquiry is bad form and consequently We do not assist the errant coiner in perfecting his craft." Now, on the matter of details, one treads on sensitive ground. Again, this is not classified information so the inquisitive collector is forced to comb thru the archives and inevitably comes up with two factors. One is time is money; the other is lack of space. There simply is not enough room on a slab to accommodate an Q.A.-like dissertation on the intricacies involved in the matter and how a decision was reached and confirmed (finalized). This has been broached a number of times over the years on the Forum and I assumed it was SOP due to volume of submissions and time constraints with the advent and remission of Covid-19 precautions complicating timely turn-around times. Do I agree reasons should be stated on Details? Indubitably. Judges routinely provide reasoning behind their opinions; ideally, graders ought to as well if only to level the playing field.

Troo dat!

[Welcome to the Forum and hope you've enjoyed a Happy Easter! I am glad you were able to get an answer on something that was "all Greek to me" from a knowledgeable source... and in record time, all of ten hours!... on a holiday no less! Remarkable.]

Oddly, the one objection that could reasonably have been raised, that each disc be imprint[ed] on one face with the weight "1/4 oz. fine," per type-written letter dated October 3, 1946, never was. (Instead, each clearly bears the mark: .2354 TROY OZS., clearly short of the required .2500 TROY OZS.) But to paraphrase Shakespeare, I darest not wag my tongue in noise so rude against he who on occasion, purportedly speaketh ex cathedra, but not necessarily for formal attribution.

🐓 : Merci, et toi de meme! (Thank you, and to you as well!)

Well, gentlemen, one sure way to put this matter to rest is to cross-examine the OP directly... To @RWB: Et tu, Brute? What is the formal name for these gold pieces you had earlier stated, "were not coins and never circulated except among currency dealers"?