Henri Charriere

Clear and convincing evidence. And I didn't even have to resort to using my prohibited 30-power loupe! That giant "S" beckons to all.

[If this is your quaint way of reminding me about the $half-billion+ Mega drawing tonite, not to worry. I gotcha!] 🐓

[One day, @RWB will find some official-looking documents in Fujian province, China, and have them translated into English back in the United States. Herewith a crucial snippet: Worker at foundry: "Okay, boss. All done." Supervisor: "I said 1943, you [expletive deleted]! Not 1944. YOU'RE FIRED!" Apparently, the worker spoke Cantonese. It was all a misunderstanding. Mystery solved.] 🐓

@Melior Invenidiste: I am trying to put myself in your place in light of what's been said. It is an interesting piece. What do you plan to do with it now? (If I bump into Fred Weinberg on the subway I will refer him to your thread. Errors is his area of expertise.) 😉

I want to make sure the words I use to express how I feel about this touchy matter are accurate. An error made unintentionally, perhaps inadvertently, is an error. Now a purposely made error, in my view, relinquishes its right to be called an error. Counterfeit error sounds silly. It is more of an imposter masquerading as a genuine error. If it is not genuine, it should be referred to as a reject. An error is an oddity, however produced, made by the U.S. Mint. If it's genuine, it is an error. If it's not, it's not. It cannot be authenticated, certified, or even passed in change. The term "genuine off-center error" as described by @CaptHenway comes closest to how I feel. To suggest otherwise is to intimate no such "coin" can be produced by the Mint under any circumstances. I cannot envision anyone going to such lengths to produce an error. This may simply be one of those instances where the highly implausible became possible. The coin skirts the boundary between the outer edge of acceptability and the leading edge of intolerance. What is this old coin's provenance? Where has it been the past 78 years? Where are it's brothers and sisters? 🤔

Anytime I described PMD using references to seismic activity and tectonic plates, I was sent to bed without supper. My concern here is your exposure to talc which comes in at #1 on Mohs' Scale of Hardness (diamonds being at the other extreme.) I trust you are aware that exposure to talc, talc dust, talcum powder is extremely dangerous. I do hope the workers were properly outfitted with masks particularly at a high elevation where breathing can become labored increasing the risk to one's respiratory system.

@HistoryBuffalo... FYI: The following item which may be of interest is set to be auctioned off in mid-August as part of the "Certified American Tokens & Medals" Heritage Auction. G C F 50 Sutler (1861-1865) G.C.F. 5th NY Volunteers Civil War Sutler Token S&I - NY - 5 - 50L R.9, MS62 NGC Note: It was only by dint of luck, having read your thread, that my eye caught this piece.

[I still want to see the Indian Heads and Wheaties.]

From a news dispatch released today... European Union foreign ministers have added gold to the list of items prohibited for importation from Russia.

"cogito, ergo sum." I think, therefore I am. But I sense you're not having any of that. Your standard of "proof" is impossibly high. Incidentally, I got to the root of the provenance vs. pedigree dispute. It seems Merriam Webster conceded they are obliged to accept and include non-standard word or term usage in their dictionary using frequency read or heard as a barometer. So while x insists that he is correct, and y insists otherwise, both are obligated to accept z's persistence in using "horseless-carriage" as the only proper term for car. (And Bostonians may pronounce car, as kah, if they wish.) I will, however, continue to resist all attempts to ram "business" strike down my throat. 😉

@GoldFinger1969: I am the oldest kid, but I do not own any Lincoln Head cents.

There is evidently more to this than meets the eyes--and ears. Whatever the real reason may be, it should be fairly obvious the "gashed leg" example was not involved. I know nothing about the series beyond their exceptional beauty but the damage to the right leg would be my first and last point of departure. I don't know what was or was not of concern in 1977, but clearly it was on the mind of the Chief Mint Officer some 25 years later. Any gentleman involved in numismatics who is willing to disclose he has property which was apparently surreptitiously removed from a U.S. Mint facility knowing the risk of forfeiture is a consideration, only adds credibility to the observation he made with no axe to grind. A most satisfying answer which only encourages more questions.

I am going to break the cardinal rule set by @Oldhoopster and provide you with a preliminary itinerary. On the page listing NGC services, tap on "NGC Census." Three lines down you should find "Canada" (boasting 709,585 results). After tapping on that, the last, four entries down should read "Canada - Maritime Provinces" (boasting 5,216 results. Tap on that line, and the whole wild wonderful world of Canadian Maritime Provinces will be listed and you can begin your search using the denominations listed as your guide. Now, as far as completeness and accuracy are concerned, bear in mind administrative tasks such as keeping up with the various censuses is an on-going, never-ending endeavor and Covid-19 protocols may have impacted up-to-date tabulation. You've mentioned "tokens," I have not explored any of this further but if you have enough of them to warrant inclusion in a Set Registry, you can always direct your request to the thread, entitled: ASK NGC... An exceedingly polite answer shall be elicited. It is also quite possible a kindred spirit on the Forum may provide you with further guidance. A note about the distinguished member who chose the moniker @Oldhoopster... he is a fount of nuts-and-bolts knowledge, no doubt about it. But rather than hand you a fish, he would rather you learn how to fish. Nothing wrong with that and he knows I have the utmost regard and respect for him and his above-board, formal way of doing things. 🐓

There are people looking for coins, but make it very clear they are not interested in those that came from shipwrecks for that very reason: huge price markups. Shipwreck salvage entails risk. And, though I bemoan his fate, I feel Tommy Thompson (SSCA) totally ruined a perfect fairy tale ending by depriving his supporters a fair share of their outlays. Whomever is right or wrong, there are a lot of angry people out there. At least with Bernie Madoff, enough people were able to recover their initial investments. The SSCA recovery was meticulously documented. It's too bad @Hoghead515 wasn't in charge. I trust him implicitly solely on the strength of what he's written. It's very sad so many invested so much and had to walk away with nothing. This has been going on for 30 years!

Funny, when word gets out I am not around, it's cause for celebration!

Any idea what mode of transportation was used? Newly-elected President Garfield was assassinated in 1881 at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (today, Union) station in Washington, D.C. The same was very likely in service in 1873, no? Just curious.

That may very well be so, but these coins had to be retrieved and conserved. If you are a collector in the market for a "hook," i.e., something with an interesting historical slant for your collection, welcome to the world of shipwreck coins.

Now that I do not have any prior commitments, I will devote my time by trying to determine why Yukon gold is different, and, of course, whether gold alleged to have been found in Ghana is markedly different, too. One day, you'll say, "Q.A., I do believe I heard of him once. And if, as you say, he made something of himself, I will take all the credit!" 😉

@DWLange: Do hope hope you're coming along fine. I enjoy your straight-forward dispatches.

No objection to the OP's use of the word Penny [in the Topic heading] to describe the Cent?

In other words, FOUR YEARS' rent in subsidized senior housing in New York City! That's a no-brainer (and good thing Roosters weren't around back then).

The only way to answer your question would be to cheat and review the Top Five collections as presently compiled by Set Registrants. There've got to be a few interspersed among the others in there somewhere. I have taken the liberty of checking out Chopper One's wares on the Lincoln Head spread and must admit I found it to be downright intimidating. A lustrous copper cent is a thing to behold. Red trumps brown in my book. (I have a few MS-67's but the best 🐓 I have--which is not even in my collection--is a gorgeous MS-64+.) Maybe J.P. Morgan, or his progeny, should have compiled the best of the best.

[It's me, the retread guy giving your thread the once-over. Firstly, regardless what you have, or think you may have, hold the coin properly. Forefinger on top, thumb on bottom--no contact with either surface (or minimally at best.) If this had been an 1856, half the Forum would cringe. For the sake of reference, I will refer to this coin as the Monkeypox example (for reasons which will become clearer after you've had sufficient exposure to Flying Eagle Cents.) The things that struck me most noticeably were the strong and weak parts: denticles that recede into the mist. An E and N in CENT that are missing arms and legs as though an effort were made to erase them from existence. And, of course, the Monkeypox which in all fairness to you was not yet diagnosed when you posted your thread. Of even greater concern to me is something no one else even mentioned: the Indian Head Cents and Wheaties! How do they stack up, in your estimation? Any stand-outs? You've only scratched the surface of what may yet turn out to be a phenomenal collection of an artist's attempt to create his interpretation of classic coins. All the best!] 🐓

[Sorry to disappoint my few remaining detractors, but the truth is preserving my mutual friendships, at this point, are more important to me than engaging in gratutitous contentiousness. Besides, in past matters my own sister unabashedly sided with NGC Moderation.]

@Hoghead515: I am well aware, the grade's been guessed and a wide range of opinions were expressed. (Had I not been exiled to Vladivostok gulag, I might have participated in more timely fashion.) I have only one question: Had the thought of conservation occurred to you, before submission? I don't know if the cost would have justified the expense. A mild case of Monkeypox appears to have riddled the reverse but, not knowing its cause, I have no remedy. Unmentioned is any reference to the unusual mint-mark. Is there anything that could have been done to improve the appearance of the reverse without "cleaning" it? All in all, MS-65 is a very respectable grade!