Henri Charriere

I can't get my eye off that meteorite streak. Real all or not, every coin deserves a respectable, more presentable holder. A flip would do. And if not, give it a proper burial casket. IMNSHO

Talkin' ta me? I don't see nobody else here. You talkin' ta me? How am I funny? You mean like I'm a clown here to amuse you? (And then Liotta blinked!) @Frank: Yeah. I still haven't got over your post about hoarders and numismatists. That was a cold shot, but you had me dead to rights. Guess I'll just have to live with that. Been called worse!

What distinguishes your line-up from others, other than heavy, fairly even wear and the requisite scratches, is silver content in varying percentages. I will always appreciate old silver coins (& wartime nickels).

Haven't you heard? Jimmy Hoffa got first dibs, then he got greedy. Rumor has it he lies beneath the Skyway.

MA-SHOPS is a good suggestion for foreign and beats having to feel obligated to take a trip to Russia. [They have a U.S. office, coincidentally or not, in Sarasota, but I believe their focus is limited to U.S. coins.] Those coins look massive! The closest thing I ever had to them was a 1797 copper three-pence, I believe. A really nice one fit for display in a museum cost me a bit in the late 60's (but, then again, I was only a teenager). BTW, if NGC can holder a holder within a holder for that intact GSA oddity, I would imagine they would be delighted to immortalize your giant 5-Kopek set-in-progress.

Whew! That was thisclose. A late-nite reprieve. Now I can rest up at home. Tks!

@CoinJockey73: Re: meshugana. Curious, so I Googled it. It said, "slang: a crazy person." A fiend of mine calls me diabolical. If he'd've said, meshugana, I'd've taken that as a compliment. I am going to check my dwindling stash of nothingburgers and if I see a good candidate, I'll post it. You have the right attitude. Some here feel they have ownership rights; others take quite ordinary differences in opinion and make them out to be Life or Death matters. As the illustrious @MarkFeld taking a quick departure from decorum and effecting a characteristicly (for him) out of character persona, recently advised me: "Chill Out!" So I did. It was Mark Feld! I felt I had no other choice. .

Whew! That was thisclose. A late-nite reprieve. Now I can rest up at home. Tks!

I have never thought of it that way but Columbia University, for all intents and purposes, is Morningside Heights. The address on my birth certificate is only a block or two from that of Carlin, a former Supreme Court Justice, possibly Harlan--Eisenhower was the head of Columbia then--and the brownstone Harry Houdini once owned. Come to think of it, there is a noteworthy presence of Asians in the Columbia student body today that was noticeably absent at the time of the 1968 student strike.

Postscript... Well, I tell you, the St. Gaudens thread is a masterpiece still in the making with so many interesting twists and turns that it is beginning to read like Joe Gould's Secret, which was a "book" comprised of an untold number of notebooks in which were recorded the everyday conversations of New Yorkers, i.e., an "Oral History" that a journalist, Joseph Mitchell, ultimately discovered were nothing but the figments of the colorful imagination of a deranged old man. I can definitely understand that threadmaster's concern that the record of contributions made, including one surprise comment from the latest owner of the unique 1933 double-eagle, be preserved at all costs. There are some truly extraordinary works of scholarship here, but that one is a stand-out which has evolved in ways no one could have forseen. It's akin to a Guest Book, with extensive annotations.

More like "crazy." Sorry I derailed your thread. "Tisha B'av" is a solemn occasion for which there is no formal greeting. This was a shot across the bow to the member who treated my return home [to the NGC Chat Boards] with injudicious contempt, a cryptic remark for he and he alone to contemplate on the 9th whilst perusing Lamentations. Your style is like a breath of fresh air. I have not encountered your unique take on things anywhere else. I bid you, and all our fair weather friends and members the likes of which I have not encountered on any other Forum, good nite!

Ordinarily, I would go directly there and pick 'em up myself for you--anything for a fellow member, I always say--but in this case, all the bad press about Russia has persuaded me to do the honorable thing and admit publicly, at heart, I am a coward. They'd grab the Rooster meister, 🐓, charge him with something, anything (to the eternal delight of my detractors) and let the lady go back home and play ball. If I change my mind, you'll be the first to know.

No, it wasn't you! It was... nah, no way the mods will permit this. Enjoy the weekend! (To the fella who threw out the unwelcome mat: Tisha b'av.)

I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind following me, with the exception of the Moderators (Executive privilege) but sounding off occasionally comes with the territory. I truly enjoy this thread. (There were some things I wanted to call out one member on, but that's illegal, so I won't.) Man, I love this place!

CANDID ADMISSION: I never met, saw, or spoke with anyone I bought a gold 🐓 from. I got to know the mail carrier real well, but have never known a coin collector. I do not now own a single coin folder or book. I have never attended a coin show. (The one and only phone conversation I have ever had regarding coins involved a person from FedEx who called to inform me a shipment of Roosters I had ordered from [MA-SHOPS] had been seized by Customs and if I didn't then and there disclose my full legal name, DOB, and SSN, the shipment would be sent back. I sat there thinking this was highly irregular, giving personal information to a complete stranger acting at the behest of another, CBP, but did as I was told. There is no doubt in my mind that upon my death, my wife will try to use my Roosters in a laundromat, in lieu of quarters, and will argue, in French, with the Chinese man who doesn't speak English, that her "quarters" should be accepted because she had a vague idea that they were somehow more valuable. Sheesh!

My wife said she thought they were the "Blues Brothers" until she noticed a distinctive patch with a discreet "N C C" on one of them. I was actually relieved to hear that. She got the acronym wrong, but I got the message alright. She thought they were very nice. She asked me why I didn't invite them to stay for supper!

@jimbo27: I saw that '87 Top 100 "Gator," and was immediately intimidated into silence. The coin, which appears to be without blemish on its reverse, is still a quite respectable MS-65 and speaks for itself. (I didn't even know there was a Top 100 attribution.) You've done very well for yourself here! 🐓

Who better to ask than an alleged, one-time King of the Trolls? Me. From my perspective, you are exexactly the type of member the Forum opens its arms wide to welcome into the fold. I like your exuberance and I believe you will do well here. I have never experienced the honor accorded some distinguished members here, who were banished from chit-chat coin boards elsewhere, but get a big kick seeing a dollar sign posted on one site--a virtual open invitation offering to pay ME for my comments.

I would too but knowing me as well as I do, I would knowingly post something I knew someone down the line would suspect is far more valuable though not generally known and our quiet but erudite lurker would "go back to the videotape," cry foul! And while some members would be amused, the mods would not, and I would plea my case, plaintively with seeming credibility until yet another member with stunning institutional memory, provides conclusive proof that Quintus knew, or should have known, his nothingburger was a somethingburger with super large fries and a large soda. So I am going to disappoint my many detractors and abstain from making a contribution. I love ❤️ the column though and read it avidly. Just what's needed during a hot and humid August.

FWIW, based on Early Returns, Quintus Arrius (Ancient Adult, age 70 and older) scored a perfect zero.

There are members on the Forum who are fluent in @EagleRJO's obscure dialect of garden-variety Esperanto. I guess I'll just have to wait for their translation of his awesome "total oversimplification."

@CoinJockey73; Walla? Voila! Great thread... 🐓

I have never had the pleasure... I have never spoken up. Consequently, I have been denied the privilege and honor of banishment and deportation. Imagine that! All that time investigating whether it is a scam, and not even a suggestion of impropriety.

Greater Des MoineS Partnership?