Henri Charriere

Sixty-two to be exact... (why do I feel this is a shot across my bow for suggesting my wife would feed my gold roosters into the slots of laundry and dryer machines upon my expiration.)

Fortunately, for me, I wouldn't be judged any harsher than I am now.

If there is a question as to its authenticity [and provenance] I would wait until the results come in. No sense getting your hopes up. Best to wait til the eggs have hatched. 🐓

[It being Rosh Hashana, and the High Holy days--not to mention personal excavation, by hand, from a Jewish cemetery--I say let the matter slide and let NGC be the party to decide whether the exhumation was proper and warranted, or not. I can only hope the OP will share with us, the results, whatever they may be.]

@Lem E: First off, this is a superior coin in every aspect: grade, steps, mint mark--even surface condition, suggests this is about as good as it gets! MS-67 is my personal favorite grade. But this coin also inadvertently highlights a problem viewers have come to know intimately. Photos vs. in-hand inspection. The photography, arguably top-shelf--and I speak only for myself!--does not do the coin justice, step-wise. There are steps there--only because I know steps are supposed to be there, but from my vantage point, they are not clearly delineated. I have to trust the professional graders, and the OP, on this one. We have argued about the pros and cons of light sources on this Forum for a long time. Is photography a suitable substitute for in-hand, in-person inspection? Honestly, based on this example alone? Not by a long shot, IMHO. [Time to gas up the old jalopy. Again.]

FWIW... The French 20-franc gold roosters are 21 mm. in diameter and weigh 3x as much: 6.46 gms of 90% gold. I like the bold relief and the Quintus Arrius-ish look of the figure depicted!

@GoldFinger1969: Two non-Earth-shaking details... The S.S. SONORA handled the first leg of the journey southward to the western side of the Isthmus of Panama. The steam ship was off-loaded and the gold coins and bullion shipped by rail about 50 miles to the eastern side of the Isthmus, where it was then loaded onto the S.S. CENTRAL AMERICA. The only other "viable" alternative, in the absence of a transcontinental railroad, was shipping it thousands of miles down and around the southernmost tip of South America and contending with the dangerous southern current and seas. [Let it never be said that Q.A. has never contributed anything of substance on the various numismatic threads comprising the Forum.]

Re: In the wake of the Hunt bros. attempt to corner the silver market c.1980... 🐓: But silver is twice what it was when I mailed that package! USPS: You insured it for $2400. 🐓: Is it my fault you took so long to deliver it--and wound up losing it? I respectfully demand $4850! USPS: You're not getting a dime over $2400. 🐓: [ I told you Q., if it absolutely, positively has to get there...] Q.A.: Objection noted. No need to rub it in.

@leeg modzzz1: This barely skirts the Guidelines, thematically. dena: I'll allow it. 🐓: Man, I love this place!

They were square (3" X 3"?) cardboard boxed sets containing proof coins in filmy glassine envelopes stapled one atop the other at the top. I bought them at Bridandi's before they moved to West 44th [and West 57th Streets. I must defend what little reputation and credibility I have left here on this Forum. Surely, someone here can confirm my recollection is correct! I believe the boxes were plain and marked 1952 and 1954 with a pencil; I traced those markings with a ballpoint pen. Primitive by today's standards.

Moderators, how could you possibly allow this? This is a public forum! I am absolutely positively NOT going to dignify this with a reply.

I suggest you re-read what you'd previously written, as recorded in a prior post hereinabove, and preserved, in perpetuity.

[I don't like the way this story ends. I want something a little more upbeat. THE GENTLEMAN IS OUR NATIONAL TREASURE AND HE RESIDES RIGHT HERE ON OUR FORUM! There. I said it.] 🐓

🐓: You gonna let him get away with that? Q.A.: Aw c'mon z! Before I was a coin collector, I was a confirmed balloonatic. My very first ride was in the Mayflower Goodyear blimp. I was 14. I snuck out onto the field where they were moored (Flushing Airport) and left a note on the steps of the gondola. Name, address, phone number. And a message: "I LOVE THE GOODYEAR BLIMPS." Next thing I know, the Captain calls and asks me if I would like a ride before they leave the city. We flew over the New York World's Fair 1964-1965--and my house. Do I know what a football is? Yeah. I flew in one! And I still got the pictures to prove it! [Thanks, Ricky! Can't believe I let that one slip by.]

@EagleRJO: Here's my admittedly rank-amateurish guy-in-the-street take on all this... When prices rise, they do so with confidence, gusto and ambition. When a lull is apparent, there is an across-the-board freeze. And if prices head south, as they invariably must, the industry follows suit begrudgingly citing factors like, "it takes a full six months for metals prices to reflect on prevailing values." What these gentlemen are saying is, when the forces are arrayed against them, numismatic value saves the day. In short, on the upswing? Go with the flow, with vigor! On the downswing, revert to waffle mode: equivocate, at will.

Aw man, I got 'im! I got 'im! The SSCA was on the Eastern side of the isthmus of Panama. The coins, etc., were shipped down to the western side of the isthmus, horse-back ridden and boated locally to the Eastern side, and then loaded onto the SSCA for the long, arduous trek to ports of call in the North. Am I right or wrong Goldfinger? Am I right or wrong? Let's have one for the Gipper! 🤔

@GoldFinger1969: I cannot speak on Saints, but the fact of the matter is, with just a handful of fanatics like me, prices at auctions can be skewed all out of proportion. And when that happens, a guy with a poker-face strolls by saying, "Hey, ain't'cha nevuh hoid 'bout Fai-yuh Mah-kit Val-yuh"?

[The eternal question looms: "Can we get a shot of the edge?" Or, in the alternative, "Would you be so kind as to state the edge is clean and pristine (no cast mark) in a signed affidavit."] Thanks muchly.

🐓 : You sure you want to weigh in on this, now? Q.A.: On second thought, No! Desecrating a thread like this would be criminal. Besides, the OP has posted enough pictures and running commentary to allow an upstart like me to claim I was there at the show, too: "Chicago ANA 2022? Why, of course! Have a seat and I'll tell you all about it..." Great stuff, Charmy!

[Not to cast aspersions on any TPGS' good name, but "received" apparently does not mean "received" in the usual sense. Received means day and time "opened." I believe one such party admitted as much in explaining inordinate delays due to necessary preparations taken in the wake of Covid-19, and her sisters and brothers.] .

@GoldFinger1969: If the assertion made hereinabove is true, I am changing my on-call vacation plans. No way to get to the bottom of this bottomless money pit. Hey, you wanna try Dent's Run, instead?

It was my understanding that the intricacies of an engraver's art on this specially formulated paper (still produced, I believe, by a paper manufacturer in MA.) were dispensed with in favor of what you see today because, at first blush, the lovely designs were "too busy" to be of use to the average merchant concerned with the authenticity of the bill proffered. Be that as it may, there is something to be said, for the "Educational" series, the "watermelon" notes and bank notes featuring Indian chiefs and locomotive trains. The fractional are wonderful--particularly those featuring multiple portraits of the president.

In the United States, it's just the psychiatrists. [I guess they don't like the heat and humidity.]

[Aside: I started to jot down the Top Classic Sets as compiled by D. L. HANSEN this past week when the announcent was made, but quickly ran out of scratch paper. I know he has at least a dozen sets, some of which are virtually unsurpassable, ratings-wise--most notably, Lincoln Cents, (1909-1964) z100% complete, rated: 69.784--and a "complete" set of U.S. $20. Gold, with major varieties, circulation strikes (1850-1932) but I am curious to know what feelings you may have about it seeing as how this appears to be your area of expertise.]

[This is an oldie but goody, unfortunately, ON TOPIC. Get a load o' who was named as an example. Not surprisingly, the complainant is long gone, while your friend and mine endures.]