Henri Charriere

🐓: Hey Q! You gonna let him get away with that? Q.A.: What's this? A re-post after a quick Clearasil ™️ or similar cleansing application? The "6" in both dates look vaguely familiar...

I believe that may very well fit the bill of most collectors. True, I assembled my primary obsession without having to drive at all (I let my fingers do the walking) but the nearest coin emporiums (Brigandi's, H.A., Stack's Bowers) are over 50 city blocks away, accessible by public transportation, within an hour [if the bus isn't hijacked or a straphanger isn't thrown to the subway tracks.] I have no problem submitting coins through a dealer and, though Ricky [ 🐓 ] may not know it yet, divestment is inevitable. Regarding your italicized question, I am a risk-taker. Always have been, always will be. [To paparaphrase Popeye's Olive Oyl, "Risk? That's me, all over!"]

But they are now, roadside stands included, and that's why I believe you have the urge to wander, more so now than ever.

🐓: This guy's counting down the days! Q.A.: Yup, you wouldn't want to run afoul of him. He looks like he means business!

🐓: Somebody say Spam? Q.A.: I don't know who's zoomin' who here, or why, but what are the chances--considering the entire spectrum of such probabilities, of encountering the no-nonsense members who have intercepted the errant post and nipping it in the bud? Our apologies to the OP whose presentation was so rudely interrupted. [NOTE: I clicked on the link and discovered--will wonders never cease?--that @Just Bob was correct, and the for-profit, entirely non-numismatic-related entity is located in Cyprus.]

Let the record reflect the sole reason why I do not wish to comment is a selfish desire to avoid getting "Punked" by the likes of you. Ashton Kutcher I can live down; You? Not a chance!

If it is not an imposition I would like to see the edge and know its thickness. The manner in which the light falls on this coin suggests thinness and vulnerability to exterior blows whether mint-intended, or not.

I may be entirely mistaken, but it seems to me a good place to begin your inquiry is NOT, as here, Counterfeit Coins, which I feel is another matter entirely but on the U.S., World and Ancient Coins topic. After plumbing the depths there you may want to ask yourself, who would know more about these coins than the country they're minted in, and the TPGS to which they're routinely sent for analysis. Speaking from experience, I can tell you it appears most Europeans are not particularly taken with oddities. [The Sheldon Scale hasn't really caught on either but two primary graders have acceded to the demands of collectors to offer them.] I believe recognizing an anomaly rightly or wrongly belongs to how numismatists in the countries within which they are produced regard them. There are clearly a number of anomalies which affect my area of interest, French 20-franc gold roosters, but as I suspected none are recognized by the French Red Book. There is a consortium of world coin dealers, many prominent, reputable and well-known in their own right, which comprise "MA-SHOPS." I would suggest you peruse their listings and find the emporium most likely to satisfy your thirst for this specialized knowledge. You may also wish to inspect the wares offered by foreign dealers for possible comparison opportunities. Who better to evaluate a Swiss coin than a Swiss concern already positioned to do so who's done it many times over many years? If, as member @JKK described it, "shelving" is recognized as an attributable phenomenon, I would be happy to hear of it.

[🐓 : Hey, Q. Alright if I distinguish the "their," "there," and "they're"? Q.A. I would rather you not. This guy's on a roll (pardon the pun) and a straight-shooter. I like his modus operandi. This Forum can use a breath of fresh air, now and again.]

🐓: Forget mintage and provenance, and think date. These are modern, non-copper coins! What right does anybody have selling non-copper "for the price of copper by the pound?" What's the correlation? Q.A.: You do have a point.

Exceptional pieces! There is not a collector on this Forum or elsewhere who would object to their existence, collection and encapsulation. They're different: I like them very much. No attempt to deceive. 100% transparency. Great stuff!

To the OP, your friend and mine, @Errorists: If what I overheard a sales clerk telling a customer earlier today is true, the flimsy piece of paper spat out by a machine at a local pharmacy, much like an old ticker tape, at a cost of two measly dollars, may be worth at least $700 million, by 11 p.m. tomorrow, 24 hours hence EST. New York Powerball. Six numbers. Now before you start comparing me to Andrew Jackson "Jack" Whittaker who won the PB jackpot half that size 20 years ago (and has since passed at age 72, two years ago in West Virginia) after a tempestuous past, let me assure you, while arguably poor, I have no financial plans simply because I do not need any more money than is necessary to support my wife and myself at the subsistence level which (if enquiring minds must know) presently rests at 1/3 the median income of my neighborhood: El Barrio. Interestingly, 75% of all East Harlemites never married (53.26%) or are separated (23.20%). The median age is 37, and females dominate males, 55% to 45%. But I digress... In terms of coins, there is nothing I want. (I am rumored to be divesting what little I have.) But there are members, and not a few lurkers loitering about who can use an assist. I know who they are. I have written nothing down. It's all committed to memory. It doesn't even matter if I win; I just want the membership to know where my heart lies. My biggest, yet unrealized dream has always been becoming a philanthropist. I deeply appreciate the contributions members have made sharing their knowledge, wisdom, scholarly pursuits and acquisitions. Giving can be just as problematic as receiving. I understand. I will work with you. Lots of organizations make appeals for funds. There are several such funds I should like to see established. Also contributing, sustaining and lifetime memberships. I have some ideas. I would like to address the problems of costly errors as they come to our attention on the Forum. In any event, that's the direction of my thoughts. At the appropriate time I would be happy to entertain requests from people in the field. There are members who've suffered natural disasters and setbacks. I would like to address them in a meaningful way. Anyhow, that's what's been on my mind. I may be a simple person and may get a spinning wheel like Gandhi to make plain clothes, but if I can help level the ground for the average coin collector, and it is within my means to do so, I will. I've got a lot to learn. Reviving threads is an entertaining pursuit but reviving a hobby will involve mass coordination to achieve a lasting effect for years to come. I am partial to NGC. We've reached an accommodation and an understanding. I will be content to make things happen not just for the heavyweights but the little guys content with completing a series in an album. It will run the whole gamut. And what better way to demonstrate appreciation, than to give back. Sooner or later, my dream [and possibly yours] will come true. Rest assured I have forgotten nobody. Least of all my army of ignorers!

This whole albino Flying Eagle has been preying on my mind... The OP's coin looks reminiscent of the 1863 Indian Head cent I once had. A noticeably blanched look, simply worn down, no "damage" in the non-numismatic use of that word. Ones in "perfect" condition now command well over $10,000.

Well, there you have it. [And thank you for including that note regarding Bhutan!] I would caution the OP from squandering his hard-earned money on any coin the demand for which is debatable, irrespective of excruciatiatingly incremental grading. To be fair about it, why don't we let fellow member z establish the acceptable parameters for these. Let it never be said Q.A. refused to concede in the presence of those more learned than he.

I was extremely disappointed with the unfinished look. I take it you were not happy with it at all. I wanted something heavy to carry around in my pocket, but the thought of desecrating that pelican or whatever it was from Chesapeake Bay deterred me from doing so. [I sent it to my sister; she said there was something "written" on the edge... I never got past the lack of reeding.]

Personally, I would like to know where they were minted and the mintage run. Also, the issue price? I don't know how demand for such an example could be gaughed. To establish a trend in demand, you would need to have X number of reference points. If this coin were unique, you would not know what the demand for it was until after the fact. Until after it was sold. I believe the high figure you encountered was simply a ploy to elicit a similarly high-brow price after establishing a high-priced mindset. I would not rush into this type of purchase until after you've made a sufficient number of inquiries with those who would likely know. Yavash yavash----easy does it.

This changes everything... maybe. I jumped on the bandwagon of the member who called, B.S. It's his call now. Bear in mind, nothing as of yet, has been introduced into evidence. [Realistically, can one expect any collector to leap-frog over a continent to simply back up an assertion with facts?]

Re reeding, or lack thereof, your point is well taken. Never crossed my mind. Probably one of the few times lack of a standard feature on coins comprised largely of precious metals could make or break a coin. [Aside: I still feel those 5-oz. coins minted a few years back just don't look right without reeding.]

Well, let's not jump to any hasty conclusions. The coins are with a family member in Vermont, and he's in Oregon presumably checking out the "vortex" phenomenon. I just don't want anyone scaring him away again like last time. It took years to get him back. He has made the acquaintance of a Forum member who interceded in my behalf back a few years at the height of the RR2020 hullabaloo. Maybe I'll PM him and see what's up. I can't seem to wrap my mind around a motive suggesting there's some margin or advantage to be had in saying you have something, you don't really have. Perchance to dream... 🤔 [Incidentally, the gentleman who abbreviated a term characterized by a Federal judge some 50 years ago, as a "barnyard epithet," deserves credit here. That's about as far as I believe he will go in uttering an ungenteel expression.] Great stuff!

I see a more pragmatic problem. The last time anyone tried to corner the silver market, driving the spot price to nearly $50/oz., we know how that turned out [Hunt bros./1980]. And publicizing your strategy on a nationwide Forum before a live studio audience, well, it only takes one attentive member to muse, "Hey, wasn't that the passenger pigeon that flew the coop one day only to return and regale us with a similar tale?..." 🙄

@Tigerbait: To paraphrase a phrase used at the Watergate hearings, What did @Tigerbaitknow, and when did he know it? I am inclined to believe you have the real McCoy because it bears evidence of having gone thru the trials and tribulations of the past 139 years in circulation. Anyone who suggests otherwise is a certified party pooper! D*na: I'll allow it, but bear in mind every member is entitled to an opinion. Fine, it's all good! 👍

🐓: Wait, what? Q.A.: Classic z-speak. Surely, he must know I maintain my rankings, unchanged, in two sets... One here, #7 "Herostratus Hoard," (a name he not only Googled, but shared the results of with other members) and the other, over "there," #1 "Rooster Roster" a member here, unprompted, helpfully provided a direct link to... Man, I love this place!

No, nobody's resurrecting anything here. I should just like to direct the kind reader's attention to this post which I believe----standing alone----speaks for itself and is deserving of more than its fair share of attention. If you agree, honk your horn!

@LINCOLNMAN: You'll kindly excuse my tittering over your tantalizing tidbit. Encapsulation logically follows authentication and certification. Here, you have turned the natural progression of things on its head. One can only assume your halfpenny's inauthenticity was verified and thereby, in a fanciful way only an outlier of the hobby can appreciate the humor of, AUTHENTICATED and CERTIFIED! Nice catch! That's one example of "questionable" provenance even a hard-boiled anti-counterfeitist on this Forum will lose no sleep over. Should the irresistible urge to post a pic of the coin seize you, by all means do so.