Henri Charriere

@Hoghead515 I once met a young man from Harrodsburg, "Kin-TUCK," and I got nowhere trying to get him to pronounce I, as "eye" and not "aah." I like regional dialects. With the continuing homogenization of the United States, we're losing a part of what makes this country unique.

You'd sooner see me on that CAC board @Cat Bath wrote about recently. 🐓

[Huh? How do you "argue" with the guy holding the gavel? Coins of this calibre are almost always auctioned off.] 🐓

I am going to have to call you out on this one; no way I am going to let you slide. There is numismatic value. And then there is bullion value. If we dispense with grading guidelines, all the leading economic indicators come to a grinding halt. That will be the death knell for the hobby as we know it. 🐓

🐓: I believe the gentleman means: none at all, zilch, bupkis. Q.A.: I am beginning to feel you're right.

[This is yet another reason why I ❤️ the NGC Chat Boards. My most recent banishment coincided with an outage which I promptly reported to Dena assuring her I was ready, willing and able to do my penance and serve it with distinction. She honored my "request," I served my time, and returned only to discover I was never missed. The membership sure knows how to hurt a guy! 😉 🐓

@EdG_Ohio Actually my question pertained to your coin, and by extension to all gold Buffalo fractional denominations minted in this century. It seems they do -- and I have since learned there are gold Buffalo nickels for sale, which I assume are unreeded, gold-plated, bullion strikes.

@Hoghead515 The only person I heard of who ever said, "Gollll-Leee," was TV's Gomer Pyle. @Hoghead515 + @GBrad. Where does, "hallowed be thy name," fit in? @Oldhoopster What about that lecture I got about sticking to numismatic subjects only 🐓

Me too, my friend. 🐓

@RWB I apologize for the delay in acknowledging your thoughtful gesture which I inadvertently stumbled across just now. [To rein in my output, the powers-that-be utilize a number of tools one of which is disabling notifications. It is a perpetual scavenger hunt aided by tapping, "Next unread topic."]

@EdG_Ohio I showed photos of your coin to my wife, a U.S. citizen born elsewhere and the question she asked bespoke of her total unfamiliarity with our coinage: "How come we never get one of these in change?" I believe having seen Buffalo Head nickels posted by others on this thread, she confused the color of yours with theirs. You've done very well with your acquisition. I would be curious to know if, unlike the nickel, the various gold denominations have reeded edges.

So does that mean I was right? The die died? Not exactly what the NTSB would term "metal fatigue," but being pounded mercilessly into oblivion? (I don't buy that muriatic mutilation theory; what about blebs or decarburization of the die steel?) Death due to natural causes (aging).

@Hoghead515 [Admittedly off-topic, but does that mean you pronounce Hollow like Loretta Lynn: "Holler"?]

@Mcpix. Unless every collector on the planet reports every transaction of note, presumably with documentation -- including prices realized on eBay, the cumulative effect would serve as an interesting yardstick, but little else. There is too much of a time lapse between the drop of the gavel, processing the results, collating them for publishing and releasing them by which time they are obsolete. This is true most notably for both the Red and Blue books. [Aside: are there so few collectors of Jeff quirks that no one can answer this member's question definitively?]

@JKN [Fred Weinberg, the soon to be retired "error coin legend," with 60+ years of experience in such coins would ordinarily be the go-to source for your question. I see a clipped planchet with a pronounced straight edge. My wife was of no assistance whatsoever, staring at your photos silently for a moment before blurting out in fractured English: "Why they don't show the other [missing] part? Why they (presumably the Brazilian Mint) do it like that?" Pending a response from an informed viewer, I would guess: a). Your father acquired and kept the coin because it appealed to his curiosity for such rarely seen relics, and b). The wear pattern suggests a pattern of repetitious, numismatically cringe-worthy mishandling: thumbprint-sized wear on the obverse and similarly localized forefinger-sized wear on the reverse. Value? I wouldn't hazard a guess 🤔. However, rare or unique a coin may be, it's ultimately demand that is a determinant in establishing its price. IMHO.

And you have guns! If you flew in with one without the requisite NYC pistol permit, you would be the one arrested and turned over to federal authorities. Go figure.

Good to know the sellers and me will be getting along swimmingly well. 😉

@Mr_Spud Lovely crosslet fours!

While I cannot offer an explanation as to why nickel varieties are treated in the manner you describe, in my area of interest I have a general idea of what my coin line is going for, both here and overseas, and act accordingly. With intermittent monitoring of sales, and the latest news regarding your subject, you will get a feel for what the price range ought to be. This takes time, patience, input from knowledgeable collectors and cumulative experience. 🐓

@VKurtB That's correct. So now I am slighted by the fact a coin I returned to a different company because it was no shape, way or form, an MS-67 🐓 of which I have several fine examples, refunded my money -- and promptly restocked for re-sale at the original purchase price well north of $1G, and a raw coin that similarly failed to pass muster with me, for which I submitted a negative review and was offered a "bribe" to remove it after already receiving a full refund. What a hobby! 🐓

I recently received the following overture from a well-known precious metals concern: "We would like to offer a $20. partial refund in exchange for you to revise your negative feedback to neutral or positive." I did not dignify this with a response, but for interested viewers [and in deference to @Oldhoopster who has an allergy to long-winded dissertations] I provide the following details. Totally disregarding @VKurtB's admonition not to buy coins sight unseen, and yet, mindful of @RWB's prescient observation that the reason early 🐓 have so few grades is because not enough of them have been submitted, I threw caution to the wind and, basing my selection solely on the photographic evidence provided on eBay, took the plunge. Following is the review that prompted the seller's offer: REASON FOR RETURN Does not match description or photos. COMMENTS Too much significant PMD (that's "post-mint damage for the unacquainted) to qualify for consideration as BU, AU, GEM & CHOICE, each featuring their own deficits. The ENTIRE rev. field is riddled with scratches and gouges. This is absolutely unacceptable on a BU coin whose fields and devices should be chaos-free. This coin has no place in the #1 [ranked "P" Rooster Registry Set which will require [the] pristine surfaces I already have for different dates/same condition. Now, I want to make it clear that I asked this bullion seller for his definition of Brilliant Uncirculated and even contributed a thread devoted to the definition of the grade at hand and received identical responses from both the seller and @MarkFeld: "It embraces all grades from MS-60 to MS-70." My feeling now is if you are a numismatist it does not bode well to order antiquities from a bull in a china shop. My money was refunded in full, eBay more or less demanded a review, and I complied. This leaves the matter of ethical considerations. I conferred with my sister on this and she reported a similar "request" (I prefer to call something else) but, having stated my case, ask the membership for their opinions. The negative reviews received by this seller continues to reflect 0. Our @VKurtB has repeatedly stated, do not place your faith in population reports, and rightly so. But what about reviews? Mine is being withheld for $20! Anyone care to comment or share a similar experience? 🐓

Truer words have never been spoken. I have been thrown off the Board many more times than I have fingers and re-admitted each and every time I apologized after she heard my feeble knock at the door. She is tops in my book!

@Mcpix Good question. I don't know but somebody out there does and we will both get an answer soon.

@Hoghead515 The die died. Its life expectancy was exceeded. IMHO.

The key word you've used is varieties, something I do not dabble in, but will hazard a guess... There is, according to the gospel espoused by member Just Bob, and many others, an undeniable correlation between supply and demand. I wonder if the varieties of which you speak have commanded prices that, for lack of the proper numismatic term, are outliers. The gods of Fair Market Value must evaluate the prices realized, mostly at public auctions, and arrive at a value that is accurate and acceptable. Little-known fact: Not a single price I ever paid for any of my coins -- purchased outside of auction houses both here in the U.S. or elsewhere -- has been recognized on any score card of prices realized. They are regarded for what they truly are: the desperation of a collector who has decided what he sees is his and must then subject himself to the drudgery of the order/payment/shipping process. The same may be true for nickel varieties, as well. Hopefully, owners of some of the gorgeous gems featured on other threads will chime in. 😉