Henri Charriere

🐓: Hey Q! Out of all the posts, guess which one the powers-that-be found irredeemably objectionable and removed? Q.A.: I haven't a clue. 🐓: You're not going to believe this! The one where you lamented the fact that a [long-time] member referred to us, pejoratively, as chaff. Q.A.: You kiddin' me? They overlooked everything else?... Just goes to show, you'll have a better chance of palming off a jalopy as a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost than an off-topic post on a numismatic forum. We love everybody though, right? 🐓: You bet! This is the Forum where everybody gets to re-invent themselves [and re-write the Guidelines] daily.

Good piece of advice. As you might recall, I bought a slabbed coin, but rather than take immediate delivery, I instructed the seller to submit it. Well, well, well... surprise, surprise! No go. The seller gave me the bad news, graciously canceled the sale, refunded my money (minus the submission costs) and that was that. The coin? I am sorry to say I lacked the authority to demand it be re-submitted for reconsideration. I believe it safe to say it is now the next buyer's problem. I have a few MS-67 Roosters and none compared with this junk yard dog.

Those prices, presumably within the ballpark as price quotes go, explain everything. There were many brick-and-mortars back in the 1960's. Not a one had the '50 or the '51. Many thanks for looking them up.

I've waited very patiently all these years for you to refute, definitively, that you are not just a writer, but a collector as well, and this is the casualty with which you choose to make your long-awaited debut?

@Sandon: All my fault. The guys warned me about opening a can of soda pop in the work area. Nobody noticed the damage until the damage was done.

Split-grade city. As regarding the reverse, I award it an AU-58. (That ought to keep the nitpicker's over "wear" on the highlights at bay.) My sincere condolences on the obverse.

🐓: How do these guys know all this stuff? Q.A.: I have no idea . . .

I am not seeing it either, but I am on a cellphone. (Any idea why buyers must pay sales tax on eBay, but save for CA. residents, everyone else is given a pass? Anyone?)

I wouldn't even know who to complain to if it happened to me [and the fact my wife insists on accompanying me everywhere I go, per agreement, per contract (wedding license )] effectively means I have no recourse. A two-way R/T by bus/subway anywhere, is $5.50 (X 2= $11.00). So, that's out. (I suppose time is money, too.) Very surprising that would happen at an ATM, but then again, machine malfunctions have disgorged their entire inventory of the denomination involved, but such an "inconvenience" has never happened to me. *** Incidentally, on those NotHaus Liberties... I believe I was ready to buy, but something stopped me. Do you recall what the lowest silver denomination was and what the prevailing spot silver price was when introduced?

It is conceivable a Henning may have, at some point in my life, come into my possession. If one falls into my lap, I will not hesitate to send it to member Hog. (Truth be told, if I had been in close proximity to that river its creator dumped them in, I would have grabbed as many as I could.) The confiscation of banknotes falling within the "unlawful and illegal to possess range," is an embarrassment. Crane makes the paper/linen to order using a secret formula. One of the first things someone notices about currency is its feel to the touch. I am aware 'notes get "raised" but any dime-srore clerk wielding an anti-counterfeit pen can defeat the efforts of all but the most determined "thief." I was passed a queer bill years ago, and I was shocked for two reasons: firstly, the fact that it had been passed to me by a local businessman I knew well, and secondly, the fact that a check cashing place declared it to be counterfeit--and promptly handed the bill back to me! The standard procedure is to keep the bill and call the Secret Service.

Commentary... I do not not know how many members are aware of it, but this seemingly miscellaneous thread, initiated by a member who has since moved on to greener pastures, contains a treasure trove of information posted by those one might ordinarily consider to be incommunicado or traveling largely incognito. They are, for the most part, uncommunicative save for their reliance on emoji. If anyone were to inquire about them by name, he would get a discouraging shrug of the shoulder. And yet, these are the members who single-handedly fuel the most popular threads on this Forum. The dedicated threads which directly feature their acquisitions, new or old, of silver, gold, and/or copper, and indirectly, as "Follow the lead post," generally highlight the possessions of those who the general membership knows little about. The posters like it that way and the "consumer" is left to contemplate treasures rarely seen in other venues. This thread, inadvertently, features the "speech" of posters who otherwise remain content to silently feature their wares. This post seeks only to shed light on those members who've elected to express themselves on contemporary jousts on the Forum through non-verbal but powerful imagery. They are the mainstays of the Forum. They are what distinguish this Forum from all others. Man, I love this place! 😀

On reflection, this is an important post. I do not know that I would buy anything sight-seen, that was in fact, sight-unseen. Those old flimsy cardboard boxes contained proof coins, many sporting "carbon spots." (It seems that term has fallen from disuse in the numismatic lexicon.) I recall dealers shrugging that off as normal for that time period, but you raise a good point: since you are not buying the cardboard box, it prevails on you to assert your right to actually see what it is you're buying. [I once tried to sell a silver bar to a newly-opened WE BUY GOLD AND SILVER place, and when the gentleman said he had to "test," it either by boring (or less intrusive means) I squawked: "That's why bars have recognized hallmarks, never mind standard weights and measures!"

The last time I submitted encapsulated coins for cross-grading, I printed a short notation in the margin of the submission form stating I was looking for a fair and accurate grade, and whether that entailed a departure in grade, up or down, was of no moment. It just so happened everything crossed successfully despite the fact I purposely left out a few plus ➕️ signs. I believe it would be a good idea to have your coin re-encapsulated if only to get both a second opinion and a higher profile holder.

🐓: What do you say to all that, Q? Q.A.: Well, first off, the coin I consider to be my all-time favorite is the French 20-franc gold roosters which are dated 1899-1914, (though the latter half were minted in 1921, the 1950's and even the 1960's.) I have pored over their every detail with a fine-toothed comb (high-magnification loupe) and am mesmerized with the coin's fine design and overall beauty. I do not recall ever thinking about my obsession as an investment. But my broker is E.F. Hutton, and Hutton says... 🐓: They're gone, Q! Long gone... Kaput! Welcome to reality.

@VKurtB: To this day, owing primarily to a generational difference, I reach for my file cabinet which doubles as a newspaper's morgue. And if the information sought is not there, I go to Plan B, which will require a trek to the appropriate repository of information. It would not occur to me that the information may well be "at hand," accessible via the internet. My thanks to you for bringing this little-known episode to my attention, and member AdamWL, for providing the answer. Man, I love this place!

[This is what I love about the Chat Board. One long-time member politely declines to comment alluding to a technicality: the post is off the topic at hand The 1921 Peace Dollar.] Another, away for a brief interval, is back and chomping at the bit. He weighs in politely suggesting one gets what one pays for. Man, I love this place! Holiday Greetings to the OP, and the entire NGC membership!]

OK, RR2020, retread guy here, giving your old thread a quick once-over... It's been well over two years now... Where exactly do we stand now on your topic post concerning a New Discovery of a Rosie with a Special Matte finish [followed by a succession of alternating ?/! punctuation marks?] Don't be afraid to speak up. Fully half your detractors have long since fled the premises. I am all ears.

To members who adamantly reject my seemingly preposterous claim that there was a time, not long ago, when the Great z leaped to my defense, I submit for your amusement, this snippet of cyberproof.

No problem, but you'll have to come back to this Forum first.

You will be pleased to know, that in revisiting this thread, and reviewing its contents in its entirety, in context, I now understand your use of the term "original set" as it relates to the 1940 issues, and proof coins minted prior to 1950. I commend you on your achievement. That is one very lovely, very well together put set!.

My only objection is to the gratuitous use of the completely made-up term, "business strike" to describe the surfaces of coins from over 100 years ago. Contemporary accounts, if still extant, would more properly refer to them as "circulation strikes." It seems to me, any well-known numismatist would know this.

Considering it is unlikely a Henning nickel can be acquired for face value, it is doubtful one would be passed or used in ordinary commerce, hence, no actionable offense would be committed. Here's the stock law-enforcement response to any allegation relative to the possession and/or sale of this coin, as I magine it would be: "The complaint will be reviewed when it is received." The way things are going nowadays, the possession of marijuana is more of an open question than the ownership of this five-cent curiosity.

[And here I was thinking it had something to do with a crack I made a few years back, that "Moxie has moxie." You're a dues-paying member. You have a right to express your opinion! Welcome back, again!]

I don't know. Maybe what the ANA needs is a coin lobby the same way the NRA has a gun lobby. FROM THE ARCHIVES... "Is this a secure line?" "Go ahead, sir." "Mike, Charlton Heston here." "Why Charlie, what a nice surprise!" "Mike, I've known you a long time. I've always been there for you. Now, about that bill before Congress-- "--It'll be DOA in committee. Don't worry about a thing. You take good care of yourself. Send my regards to Lydia." 🐓: What the ANA needs is a higher visibility profile and an influential spokesperson with name recognition.

As stated earlier in this column, the Department of Homeland Security has subsumed, in part, the missions of both Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S.S.S. Where two or more agencies share jurisdiction in the enforcement of statutes, an interagency strike force is formed. Based on the particulars Kurt has provided regarding the chartered functions and duties of the ANA, my feeling is they present a subdued advisory presence to law enforcement investigatory agencies as it relates to coin and currency issues.