Henri Charriere

FWIW, to my knowledge, the New York Transit System is notable for its use of small dollar coins in their MetroCard vending machines. I do not know if this policy, in force for the past [at least] twenty years shall continue when card use is discontinued with the advent of Tap and Go.

Very handsome warthog or wild boar.

Sorry, there are no such notes. This is what one of the Moderators call "inappropriate humor," though I wan't cited. My objection to such errors is it is impossible. No credible scenario can explain how a banana sticker with USPS-type adhesive on the reverse, somehow floated about amid pounding heavy machinery and wound up on a sheet of uncut currency positioned perfectly upright and intact. I, for one, ain't buyin' it. I apologize if I misled you or others!

If Lady Luck were to find favor in my heart, your wish would be my command. 🐓

My approach would be to locate the individual, or spokesman for the group of investors, and simply ask them where do they see themselves five or more years from now, and fast-forward an offer he cannot refuse. If I were to bestow the 1908-S I promised you publicly, in perpetuity, you'd wind up in the poor house. New Year, New promise: I will be happy to settle the tax matter. My wife and I are old, simple people and have no plans. (Maybe, just maybe, I'll send my sister in California two dollars on condition she quit that cult I am convinced she is a member of.) 😉

@GBrad Bad timing... Mid-nite 2022! Nevertheless, don't quote me on this (my memory is not as good as it used to be) but post NY's EVE, someone, maybe @Conder101, has the answer you seek. Every TPGS keeps meticulous records and no two (I am aware of) have developed and/or adopted identical certification number generators for universal use. A census and population is fairly straightforward, as are the line of encapsulations used which in the automobile world would distinguish a Buick from a Cadillac. Now computer-chipped holders have been introduced using near-field technology which has taken bar codes and USPS "optical character readers" as well as scanners to a whole new level. I do not believe any encapsulation reflects information related to date of conception (though many boast lineage, the precise word for which has been a matter of contention among collectors for years.) If anything, much like the old quality cardboard used to house coins one distinguished member is rightly fond of having amassed the largest collection of them in the free world, patent numbers and copyright dates are available, as are approximate range of use, but precise dates and mintmarked coins are not. [In France, e.g., fully half the 20-franc gold 🐓 rooster run bearing the dates 1907 to 1914 (called "restrikes" here; "redistributed" there) were actually minted in 1921, and from 1940 to 1950.] Stick around and you'll get a definitive answer, or Ask NGC/NCS, directly. Happy New Year to the OP @Hoghead515 and the membership-at-large!

I stand corrected. 🐓

I would consult a professional money manager, certified public accountant and a lawyer and then get an expeditor to make an offer to the owners of the Excalibur bar (S. S. CENTRAL AMERICA) and the two French 20-franc gold roosters graded (and successfully cross-graded) as MS-68.

Ever wonder why acronyms lack periods? It was discovered their cumulative effect cost sizeable amounts of money, hence FBI and CIA, sans periods. The NAACP lauded the move: they no longer had to disclose what the "politically incorrect" letters stood for. My first impression of the OP's solitary letter was not "toned" but numis-speak for "blasT white." But what if in the intervening years, Toning develops? I accept as reasonable the reason as set forth above. [Rickey the Rooster 🐓 , my alter ago will remain unchanged.] 😉

There was a spontaneous declaration by a member, firmly expressing his dislike of the term "specimen," without further elaboration. I had no opinion about the term because it appeared to mean different things to different people at different times and places. I realize now, in light of varying members' enlightening remarks, that the term was being used imprecisely as a marketing descriptor To the non-collector, it's use by a numismatist evokes "something special and rare." 🤔

A FLEETING THOUGHT VKB: NOW do you see why insist on in-person inspection.. Q.A.: I do, sir!

That thought did occur to me, thanks!

@Mr.Bill347. I appreciate your honesty. That coin is memorable. With an automobile regardless of vintage, the car you see is. the car you'll get ‐- depending on the results of a third-part diagnostic examination. Your collection of coins are top shelf! 🐓

Right about that! More like a three fifty-seven. 😉

In Ricky the Rooster's gullet, of course! 🐓

FAIR WARNING! 🐓: Wanna give this a shot, boss? Q.A.: Wayne, Wayne, Wayne... Punctuation is against your religion: I get it. In that regard, I unreservedly recommend the book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss (subtitled: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation) 😉 Dedicated: To the memory of the striking Bolshevik printers of St. Petersburg who, in 1905, demanded to be paid the same rate for punctuation marks as for letters, and thereby directly precipitated the first Russian Revolution. My take on the OP's position is as follows: in fairly Biblical fashion he is hungry and wants to eat fish. The forces arrayed against him, insist he learn how to fish on his own to satisfy his hunger today and for the days to come, to time indefinite. Right now, he's considering his options. I, myself, have no opinion on this matter one way or the other. 🐓 : Thank you. You've been very helpful. 🤔

🐓: Don't take the bait! Q.A.: I ordered a 1903 French 20-franc gold rooster graded MS-67, or higher, if available. Oui? Non?

[Memo to file... last edited only a month ago, the Wikipedia entry for the 1913 Liberty nickels -- Eliasberg, Olsen, Norweb, Walton and McDermott -- continues to refer to them as specimens with a note that "two have 'proof surfaces' and the other three were produced with standard striking techniques." (Emphases mine.)

[Why do I feel we are standing on the precipice of the slippery slope to "proof-like"?] 🐓

[Private joke... regardless, the result suggests a Really Rare Ratzie Reject and should be marketed as such.] 😉

It does indeed! But would you break with long-standing tradition and buy it out-of-hand, sight unseen? 🤔

[Patterns? Right now I'm churning out Chiquita-brand stickers from Guatemala for my brand-new EPQ double-sawbucks. Next up: patterns!] 😉

Very shabby, if true. I would have placed it in a be-ribboned holder and pinned one to his chest at a public ceremony.

I, for one, am willing to give any new member with an interest in numismatics, a chance. Sure he made mistakes; we all have. Have we all not tripped over an uneven sidewalk, fell down the stairs, slipped into a crevice or crevasse? To paraphrase Twain, "have we not a perpetual inclination" to misjudge others' actions for hostility and aggression, real or imagined? We cannot all be expected to react to what others' perceive as reaction, or premature dismissal, equally, coming as we do from all walks of life, social classes, educational backgrounds and resources. *** To the Administrator: the inclusion of a photo (if available) and brief resume, was pure genius! It is always helpful to have an idea as to whom a member is directing his remarks.

Interesting how you will accept, without question or objection, the formal extrication of an old copper box from an old monument, but unseal and disgorge the contents of an apparently authentic U.S. mint bag date-stamped with official tags, with never-before-seen, Mint-fresh, Mint State 90% silver Kennedy halves -- under the steady gaze of a camera with narration accompaniment by an eyewitness... and you reject outright its claim of intact, established provenance. If the latter had been transported by armed guards and opened i/f/o of a captive audience of hundreds, at a public venue, would you have acquiesced to apparent lawful authority, and said, Okay, I'll allow it?