Henri Charriere

Looks like another user name change may be in order.... let's consider the possibilities... I am going to refer to you [privately, of course] as MartyrTm, a play on martyrdom. I am afraid redrum just doesn't cut it and 69 is too reminiscent of tekashi69. Tm? No, not ™️, but Thulium, a silvery-white rare earth metal, atomic # 69 on the Periodic Table, or Tm for short. Anyway, short of yelling, "Rewrite!" you can always remake or reinvent yourself with a new name and a fresh approach. I did it and, as I am fond of reminding my many detractors... STILL HERE, STILL STANDING, STILL STRONG! To my brethren on the Forum: I have been accused of reckless rumination, but indiscriminate urination? NEVER! To the member who was kind enough to write to me and say I was "a great man," I guess you understand me better than most. 🐓

...Operative words: "unsolicited comments"... One Key victory of note: my greatest fan read every word of what I'd written and, in true gentlemanly fashion, ditched the overused emoji, and dignified my comment with a formal reply. What a mensch! Man, I love this place! Pesach sameach!

Thank you Zebo, for your never-ending quest to broaden the "body of knowledge."

🐓: Hey, Q! A public service announcement from Zebo! Q.A.: I see. Only one problem. 🐓 : What? Q.A. It makes note of "the modern issue era." We got jumped by JB, VKB and the Powerhouse guy on that redrum thread's. Now Zebo is gonna get jumped by World Colonial. It"s too early in the morning for a rumble in the jungle.

🐓 : Looks like we've been overruled, Q. Q.A.: No violation of law. No technical violation of the guidelines. No different from one gentleman asking his wife, "Do you like this paisley tie or the striped one better?" FULL STOP!!! But wait, what did he do? And it turns out, nothing at all. They just don't like the guy's User Name! As Dean Martin used to say, "Ain't that a kick in the head?" What makes this tougher is you've got the Nice guy AND the guy who'd rather be Right than Nice weighing in. And Dena watching it all like a hawk! It's a NO-WIN. 🐓: Say Q,... strictly off the record... which is a better buy... Ancients or Vault Protectors?

It gives me great pleasure to confirm the user handle assigned to me by eBay, "ayto-3564," depending on how you wish to regard it, has been retired or undergone a metamorphosis to "Francois Villon" [FV]. As a practical matter, this means the # 1 ranked French 20-francs gold rooster set on the West coast Set Registry has a "new owner." (As an aside, it also means, if long-standing custom continues, my most devoted and faithful follower shall soon regale the membership with a genealogical background check on who this rascal was, when he lived and how he died. I absolutely, positively shall not vociferously deny any sludge he manages to dredge up.) Man, I love this place! 🤣 Postscript: the Gold Spot Price of the F20FR GR as of Fri. April 19, 2024 is: $446.72. (nota bene: this Topic and thread is posted at the sole discretion of NGC Chat Board moderation.)

Re: "Dealer vs Member Grading" (current topic posted by dccbar on this Forum) 1- Having never attended a live auction, I am ill-equipped to characterize the pregnant pauses seen in this one as being out of the ordinary. My televised experiences suggest they are fast-moving and do not pause for bids. Maybe I am mistaken. (Member @VKurtB would be eminently qualified to comment on this aspect.) 2- Sotheby's... cautionary tale here. There are those of us old enough to remember the muted coverage of the Sotheby's-Christie's price-fixing scandal which resulted in the once-chairman of Sotheby's auction house, Adolphus Alfred Taubman, then 79, businessman, inventor and philanthropist convicted on a plea of guilty and sentenced to one year in a Federal prison and a fine of $7-1/2 million serving his time, uneventfully, as inmate 50444-054 at the FMC in Rochester, MN. He died at age 91; he would have been 100 today had he lived.

I had wanted to comment on this video but as it does not directly relate to the OP's topic I am posting my observations on the more appropriate "Unsolicited Comments" thread.

(Sorry, I'd love to comment but can't with Pistol Pete watching my every move!) 🤣

Hi there and welcome to the Forum! YOU ARE A GOOD SPORT AND WELL-SUITED FOR THIS FORUM WHERE MANY MEMBERS REGARD MATTERS LIKE THIS AS THOUGH IT WERE A LIFE OR DEATH MATTER. SURELY YOU CANNOT EXPECT ME OR ANYONE ELSE TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT GOES ON INSIDE A ROOSTER'S HEAD. TO YOUR CREDIT, WITH THE DISPLAY OF THE AD I ASSUME WAS PLACED ON EBAY, WE HAVE LEARNED TWO THINGS: NEITHER YOUR LHC NOR THE SELLER'S HALF CENT LEFT THE MINT IN THEIR RESPECTIVE DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS. THIS IS WHAT YOUR "ALL-KNOWING" CROWD KNOWS INSTINCTIVELY: BOTH COINS EXHIBIT THE EPITOME OF POST-MINT DAMAGE. AS YOU ARE UNDOUBTEDLY AWARE, SELLERS ARE FREE TO SELL THEIR WARES FOR WHATEVER THE MARKET WILL BEAR. YOUR CENT IS WORTH ITS COPPER-MELT VALUE. (THE PUBLIC DISPLAY OF A U.S. FLAG IN THE CONDITION EXEMPLIFIED BY THE HALF-CENT WOULD BE A MAJOR BREACH OF ETIQUETTE.) MALHEUREUSEMENT, THIS COURTESY DOES NOT EXTEND TO MANGLED MONEY. I WILL LEAVE TO OUR RESIDENT EXPERTS WHETHER THE HALF-CENT WAS TRULY WORTH THE ASKING PRICE. (I ASSUME THE BUYER'S MOTIVE WAS TO SIMPLY FILL A HOLE IN AN ALBUM.) IRRESPECTIVE OF YOUR AGE AND BUDGET, I WOULD URGE YOU TO SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR A COIN YOU CAN BE TRULY BE PROUD TO OWN THAT WILL NOT REQUIRE A DEFENSIVE EXPLANATION AS TO WHAT WOULD PROMPT SOMEONE TO MAKE A PURCHASE LIKE THAT. YOU DODGED A BULLET. NOW TAKE THE MONEY YOU WOULD HAVE SQUANDERED ON THAT COIN AND SET YOUR SIGHTS HIGHER ON A REAL GEM WHICH WILL APPRECIATE IN VALUE AND GIVE YOU AND YOUR HEIRS YEARS OF ENJOYMENT TO COME!

🐓: With your leave, your Honor, I should like to cross-examine the witness. Judge *****, presiding: Go right ahead, counselor! 🐓: Good afternoon, sir! Would it be safe to assume you have never before encountered the various types of damage as exhibited rather prominently by this type of coin in the 50-plus years it has been in circulation? I ask because it appears from your query that, however unlikely, you appear to entertain the possibility such damage, may have occurred at a U.S. Mint facility one day in 1956. Would you be able to refer those who are not "all-knowing," to an example you may have seen in someone's collection or brought to your attention in published literature, a Reporter or a website? As a matter of intellectual curiosity, I should like to know what such a relic would realistically command at auction and whether you feel same is worthy of being enshrined in an encapsulation? No further questions, your Honor. Your witness. Judge *****, This matter is adjourned until 9:30 tomorrow morning, sharp! [Q.A.: Say, Ricky (🐓) that was an impressive display of oratorical skill... What law school did you intend? 🐓 : Law school? I read Jerry Rosenberg's law books when I was his protege up at Auburn!] (Posted at the sole discretion of NGC Moderation.)

Alternate viewpoint: The soothsayer residing within me says U.S. Moderns will never be hot. This is not wishful or negative "the grapes were probably sour anyway" animus thinking. It is, for some, a simple, painful, realization of reality. Not to one-up @World Colonial on this, but the worst is yet to come. The sliver is gone, classic gold showcasing the engravers art is gone -- even our currency is laughably cartoonzlike. Plastic has been overtaking metal for some time. It is indeed unfortunate these Mexican drug cartels are oblivious to the fact it is not money, but the love of money that is at the root of all evil. I wouldn't be caught dead measuring the distance between a numeral and a rim or a leaf. In real life, the decisions that really matter and upon which lives depend on are nothing more complicated than "O" rings, stopping at RR crossings and being minful of wind shear when landing. Modern coins look cheap and sound cheaper when dropped. The future of the hobby lies in the past.

One notable exception comes to mind and while members may feel I am harping on it, the truth is a judgment call had to made (as well as a career decision to the parties involved.) This concerned the injury suffered to the right leg of Liberty on the unique '33 "Double-Eagle." I shall not say another word more. Negotiations occurred between the owner and at least two TPGS and I have to assume the parties involved were satisfied. I had wanted to restrict my observations to just the two comments you made above because if there is anyone given to making fair and balanced comments it is you. Now, is it not a fact that you have regaled the membership with a steady diet -- and I exaggerate solely to illustrate the point I wish to make, that coins, particularly those slabbed years ago by A, were resubmitted by you to B, and you were pleasantly surprised by the results? You modestly offered a reason which I accepted at face value because I believe you are congenitally incapable of lying and/or showboating. Cross-grading entails risk and I believe every decision you had made was more than fortuitous good luck. I am very happy for you.

To our Grand Master: I see where a great many males (sex, assigned at birth) have fled for reasons better left unsaid to the other side. What intrigues me is Zero Recall on my part as to the presence of any questions regarding the care, custody and control of coins on my part as well as any self-report on my part of being of the Caucasian persuasion on official Census forms. I thank Roger for setting aside time from his busy schedule to broaden the body of knowledge of collectors on this Forum and accept the results of his findings, unconditionally and unequivocally.

Not only is it not an "s," but it is not a majority of the English alphabet as well. Proof? Aw jeez... the thing ain't even real! Taking some surplus metal from the strategic scrap pile and giving it to a boot black to shine up does not, a Proof, make. And please do not feed into this "business strike" nonsense. Since the Mayflower landed in 1620, there were only two types of coins: Proofs and circulation strikes. Some of these denizens of the deep find themselves to be better than others, thus the term Uncirculated. Proofs, owing to the nature of their creation retain that descriptor for life. If some card-carrying numismatist commits the unspeakable and dares to liberate such a coin from its OGH, all is not lost. It is assigned a number befitting it's latest visual incarnation, warts and all.

Do they? The most popular (not longest running) thread is helmed by a person working [permanently] from a remote location. Closer to home, I dare say half the members who follow you, while presumably real, are relative unknowns. Now there's a newly instituted rule: publish or perish! If you do not speak up, you are not formally acknowledged. It's right there enshrined in policy. When does a pedestrian stop being a pedestrian? When he stops walking. I will be back with a new moniker by summer and, as habit will have it, there will be those who will continue to persist in calling me by my former User Names. If anyone is a faithful, satisfied customer, it's Ricky. I guess he's kind of an honorary member. And it is my understanding, he is in good hands. 🤣

I do not believe TPGS themselves would know. My understanding is that's the way submissions used to be done, i.e., through bulk submissions [until uncle z convinced them there's nothing to them at all anyone with a seventh grade education couldn't do himself] Submission numbers, consecutively sequenced would be of no help. Many are revised annually and any outstanding forms left over discarded. You know, every time I see that guy with his "The End is Near" "Repent" sign, or read another literary piece claiming the "hobby" is dying, much of what they say is true (aging collectors, the closure of storefronts, etc., but I don't recall seing hard numbers, only conjecture. I guess it's not something anyone would ordinarily bring up except dues-paying lurkers like Q.

Q.A.: But it's two, sometimes more against one. Can't I weigh in? 🐓 : No offense, but you're just not smart enough. Besides if you were, you wouldn't have posted the question in the first place.

Teacher: "What does your father do for a living? Yes, Jimmy! Jimmy: My father collects coins. All kinds, but mostly quarters on "the Neck." (The Throgmorton's Neck Bridge connecting the Bronx with Queens, NYC). Teacher: Anyone else? Yes, Missy! Missy: My dad's a lawyer. He's a partner in a white shoe law firm down on Wall Street. Teacher: And you, Johnny? Johnny: My mom's a doctor at Riverside Hospital. Teacher: Anybody else?... Tommy? Tommy: My father really lucked out! He's a licensed plumber! We've got a mini-mansion, a Gulf Stream IV, a '32 Deusenberg, a country club membership, and a vacation home on Norman's Cay, our own private island in the Bahamas... 🤣

🐓 : I'd better not see anybody doing this on the subway... Q.A. Better that than the stuff we've been seeing and reading about lately. 🤣

Hold-on-wait-a-minute... Surely, you are not suggesting these CIRCULATION STRIKE coins bear any resemblance, however remote, to the absolutely gorgeous, well-defined, wll-struck example posted early on, entitled PCGS SP- 69? Without the courtesy of offering a view of the reverse, it is virtually impossible to pinpoint the precise location where the slight demerit demanding a 1-point deficit occurred. Now look at the very last example posted and, if I may, I should like to direct your kind attention to the aftermath of the barroom brawl which was recorded for posterity in the lower SE quadrant of the coin in the area between 64 of the date and WE TRUST. Sorry, no comparison. Parting shot: many may disagree, as is their prerogative, but you could not give me, free/gratis, and -69 coin. It reminds me of the father, a real taskmaster who, in reviewing his son's transcript, paused at the overall 3.98 GPA and, inquired of his son why it wasn't 4.00. To me a -70, with a professional opinion rendered by our Sandon, seals the deal. Anything less, to me, signals a suggestion of a flaw or defect of some kind. That is why I make the distinction, as others do, between "best" and "best possible." Expense must never acquiesce to sacrifice. That is why the names of the Blue Whales in our profession mean so much. 🐓

Respectfully,... am I to believe no one in positions of authority was aware of the problem? No one reported it? No one advised the Director to inform him of the development, much less apprise him of the steps being contemplated to correct the "malmintage?" Where were the inspectors and quality-control personnel? What about the guys servicing hubs and starched collars? My point is: When a problem like this lands on the Director's desk, it's too late!. If it'd've have been me, I would relieve from further duty all persons involved immediately, and assure the Director measures have been put in place to insure there would be no repeat of this debacle emphasizing my statement with the quote, by pledging my Life, my Fortune and my Sacred Honor on it. *** Privately, on non-government memorandum or letterhead I would remind the Director that had he secured the necessary funds essential to the efficient operation of a modern mint, as requested in previous correspondence, none of this would have happened in the first place. 🤣

I am troubled by this finding perhaps more than I should be. Why should it be the concern of a government official in the nation's capital to insert himself into a situation, the precise dimensions of which were as yet unknown, when there were staff available in Philadelphia ready, able and willing to tackle the problem head-on? You cannot micromanage the affairs of a production line from afar. That's why effective directors delegate responsibility to trusted associates. Under King Ed Koch's tenure in New York City, he never answered a question from the press regarding police, correction -- or sanitation matters. Instead, he would state, for example: "I have a police commissioner. Allow him to brief you on the matter." Any "damaged" coins have long since been discovered and voluntarily surrendered. "I pledge my Life, my Fortune and my Sacred Honor on it." (To sticklers for proper attribution, I credit the plagiarized line quote to the signers of the nation's Declaration of Independence, 1776.)

Granted, dated post where things move at warp speed. By strict definition, I do not qualify as a collector. Judging by the number of coins I have in my constructive possession, 24, I am neither a hoarder or accumulator. I do not believe I can even be termed a coin enthusiast anymore. The line of Saints appeals to a certain collector, like set registrants, with a large disposable income or unassigned assets. The above reasoning, set forth as such, comes close as one early can to identifying the type of collector I would envision a Saint enthusiast as being. In succeeding posts focused on the '30-S low-ball, I would imagine the original owner, acquired it possibly for sentimental reasons as the ideal lucky pocket piece for quite some time, hence, my believe the original piece, clearly devoid of distracting damage, was carried by someone, at the height of the Great depression for no no ther reason than he could. It's too bad his real motive, and that of others prior to the advent of TPGS, is the real untold story here. Many valid points raised here. A laudable attempt is made to define who collects these coins -- and why. Unclear as to who "owns" the rights to this story now unfolding on.paralled threads, but it would clearly make for some fascinating reading to those predisposed to learning more about the history of a coin that has captured the minds of a select group of collectors who have realized there are never going to be enough finite pieces with sought-after attributes to supply insatiable demand. I am truly sorry I missed my calling in life as an unpredictable philanthropist.

I AM NOT A GOLD BUG! Now, If viewers will pardon my blatant plagiarism... "We start believing now that we can be who we are. "Gold is the word. It's got a groove. It's got a mean-ing. "Gold is the time, is the place is the mo-tion. Now, Gold is the way we are feeling. "Gold is the word. Is the word. Is the word. 🐓 Props to GF1969. You heard it here first in this topic.