Henri Charriere

Q.A.: I have taken the liberty of emphasizing the above words not only because I find them offensive (yes, viewers, ME, Q.A.) but because I am irate! WHAT PART OF PROFESSIONAL COURTESY DOES NGC FAIL TO UNDERSTAND? Examples abound. True, it is discretionary and not obligatory, but that is why police officers do not summons fellow MOF. It is why fire folks dampen their sirens a few dozen decibels when transiting neighborhoods in the wee hours of the morning. And, it is why bloodthirsty sharks do not devour lawyers should they fall overboard on a cruise ship. 🤣 Professional courtesy goes a long way toward promoting good will and should be indispensable. Elsewhere, the indomitable one whose biography unabashedly states his [gluteous maximus] resides in the Heart of Dixie, noted credibly (based on hard statistics) that the average time a grader spends on a coin is mere seconds! If this assessment be true, how much extra work is required to treat newer members with old-fashioned southern hospitality? Lawyers do not type labels; that's what secretaries are for. Likewise, Graders farm their work out to summer interns (typists). And if they don't, they ought to. To the OP: Kindly update us on your request for reconsideration. Fair is fair, and if it isn't, it ought to be. Ricky, Aye? or Nay? 🐓 : AYE!!! Q.A.: Good. Then that settles it.

(parenthetical postscript... none of your lovely "cents" qualify as "pennies." The former were minted in the United States; the latter were minted in England. They are universally referred to as "wheaties," and, regardless of condition, are prized independent of their numismatic value, for their 90% copper content.)

🐓: This has got to be something I have never encountered on the Forum before... Q.A.: What's that? 🐓: A polite "Back on Track," followed by a matter-of-fact dissent! Q.A.: True, but did you catch that adorable gem: Among other things, "... First.... demand for clad coins needs to increase!!! [Emphases all mine.] 🐓: You gotta be kiddin' me! You sure you read that right? Q.A.: Malheureusement, I did! 🐓 : Wow!... That's the reason why we left the hobby in the first place!!! Hey, maybe copper will be the new gold...

Owing to the incontrovertible fact I have nothing useful to do, most of the time, it suddenly occurred to me why a few members voluntarily share their hunting, gathering and foraging activities... In a nutshell, they had the great misfortune to be saddled with a great deal of disposable income and, botttom line, they feel obliged to do something with it. This affliction does not apply to the vast majority of garden-variety members. However, with amateurish detective work, I have come up with a plausible, palatable explanation. This hearkens back to the time @Woods020 posted a Topic regarding what preparations collectors have made in contemplation of the inevitable. I never gave it much thought as had many others. There were others who intended to reap the fruits of their labors themselves. That left one group unaccounted for: those who planned to leave their unique coins, truly magnificent sets, collections, accumulations, hoards, rolls, oversized spitoons filled to the gills with loose change, etc., to their heirs. This has two obvious benefits: they are exempt from conjecture, criticism and outright condemnation. Nobody pointed fingers at the legendary Collyer brothers, both professional men, until their deaths in 1947 and "excavation" of their homes unearthed one who had died after accidentally triggering a homemade booby trap. The only surprise appeared to be they were millionaires living in abject squalor. Their lifelong pursuit of "things" came to an ignominious end. (It took weeks to empty the home, the entire contents of which wound up in the city dump; their brownstone was razed and the lot where it stood is today a playground bearing their name.) The principals here are unconcerned with value because they readily admit they are not coin investors. Their ultimate net worth will be left to their heirs to sort out. And that activity will not cost them a dime. They may appear to be driven, but they are merely biding there time.

... or simply had great personal, sentimental value.

@samclemen3991 ... re the entire content of your post upthread. (I attempted to address this phenomenon a few posts above yours, but failed miserably to keep my composure. You succeeded spectacularly.) Mesi anpil! ... Xie Xie!... ...Feichang ganxie! ... Danke schon! ... Merci beaucoup! et Mesi anpil! Thank you very much!!!

Left conspicuously unsaid is why the label on @JDBradford 's 1886 III-cent CuNi declares it to be an "XF 40" when your meticulous research indicates NGC Certification "more accurately describes it as PF 40." I would imagine anyone buying such a coin would be miffed and inclined to give the seller a less than satisfactory review because the item which he received "was not as described." If I spend time looking for a specific example, the last thing I would want to receive is a coin that is not a Proof, or even a Mint State -- but an Extra Fine, along with a note stating, "TRUST ME, the coin is more accurately described by the very people who certified it as a Proof 40." What recourse does the buyer have? No way I am going to hold on to a slab I KNOW will present a problem to me or my heirs in the near future.

Congratulations! I have studied the matter of views and what may prompt them for some time. Your average Set Registrant wants to get a feel for the competition and checks not only Rank, but the grade-line, and "Set History" which, for those unfamiliar with the feature, gives viewers a minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow set building strategy. It stands to reason also that collectors who hew to the highest grades say, MS, are contenders to keep an eye on. With one truly choice coin they can leap-frog over your standing by two ranks. I spotted my competitor from a mile away. From out of nowhere, a total unknown, he started a set and leap-frogged over half of all the registrants in my 16-coin series.. Both he and the # 2 collector (a bona-fide whale well-known in such circles) shot to the top of the pyramid -- a fact made all the remarkable considering their sets have yet to be completed! Naturally, checking periodically, the number of views will be high. The sets that are completed expeditiously are those that feature primarily circulated modern coins. The hold-outs keep their eyes on the prize. They will not settle for less. 1,031 now. Well worth the visit! Yours is the ideal progression. Your antennae are fully extended and you have committed yourself to do the very best you can.

I am not going to comment on whether this a "rarity". If you are its owner, I cannot fathom why you would acquire it without knowing the simplest of basics about it: rarity and price. Moving right along, I fail to see what basis you have for challenging, not the opinion of some self-described grading czar, of which we are never in short supply, but a recognized TPGS that has been around for decades. Somewhere, buried deep within this year's topics and posts, was a bit of trivia which may be relevant. If I am not mistaken, the member stated no circulated Proof has been certified, in substance, below the AU range (which dwells within the 50's). This is not to say no such Proofs exist. It merely suggests in decades of TPGS operations, none has been so certified. Malheureusement, if you feel your coin qualifies for such distinction, it would probably have to be exhumed from its slab to aid the examiner, amateur or pro, in making that determination via an in-hand inspection. I have no doubt that the OP, whose forte among many others, is three-cent nickels, may be interested to learn what in particular gave rise to your query.

Your complaint will be reviewed when it is received. At first blush, it appears you have made your feelings known on a number of occasions. However, one cannot help but notice of the five emojis presently provided -- with the exception of two you used in the fall of 1937,.you seem to be partial to the one expressing sadness. I was able to conjure 🐓 by simply typing in the word, Rooster. You may wish to try the same.

I don't know if they were ever Red Hot, or not, but all this roll-hoarding is too time-consuming and I do not see the cost- effectiveness of maintaini g a fleet of fork-lifts. Have any of you medieval hoarders ever considered 100 or 1000 troy ounce bars? Why drown in tons of tons of metal when you can consolidate your holdings? You've all been around long enough to know had you acquired a kilo-sized bar of gold with a universally recognized hallmark, you could have easily doubled and tripled your investments. I fail to see the purpose of stockpiling silver rolls, much less clads. They're in paper rolls? What do you guys do, pile up mountains of rolls and contemplate the words NICKELS, DIMES and QUARTERS ON THEM? A BU ROLL OF '64 KENNEDYs MAKES SENSE. All this newfangled stuff makes no sense at all. I have mentally carved out exceptions for roll-hunting Newbies. What I want to know is what is the big attraction of paper rolls in cardboard boxes and wheel barrows of coins? What is that, the illusion of wealth? Time is money! To the OP: Sorry. A '95-W I can wrap my mind around. The moral there is get in, make a killing, and get out. All this loose change stuff hearkens to one's youth. What I want to know is why all you guys, many with considerable means, haven't outgrown this? There's no way anyone can convince me coins that aren't "real" (minted with non-precious metal, new or not) are worth anything. Nothing I have said here should offend anyone. If it doesn't apply, let it fly. 🐓

Q.A.: No, No and NO! Never thought I would say this, but I OBJECT! I appreciate all the members who took the time and trouble of explaining the finer nuances of grading and grading coins without dates but feature design changes allowing for grading to proceed with confidence. Now this atrocity is dumped in my lap! Mike, nothing personal but this grates against me worse than a counterfeit would because it is impersonating a genuine coin and, unlike an authentic coin, a TPGS (maybe what's needed is a Fourth Party Grading Service) against all the eligibility criteria, proceeds to grade this thing. No date, yeah. I feel so strongly about this that I think I will award a no-bid contract to our Powermad compadre to go seek and destroy this malignant tumor. This is a dangerous, slippery slope and once opened will be hard to wall off. I tell you... 🐓: There now... Feel better? Q.A.: Yes. Maybe tj was right. I've gotta reduce my screen time by 90%. Nite all. 🤣

Intereresting... had that "blue nickel" been lead (Pb #82) her son likely would have been poisoned. I see where mercury (Hg #80) and thallium (Tl #81) close Periodic Table mates, are also poisonous if ingested as well. I would be curious to know what is responsible for causing the peripheral iridescent blue toning commonly found on coins.

🐓: There's that old familiar refrain... "... time will tell..." and "... all in time..." I'm beginning to think this guy knows something we don't... Q.A.: Anything's possible, but we gotta get back to work. 🐓 : Work? What's with the four-letter words... Doing what?? Q.A.: Doing what we do best, Ricky. Broadening the body of knowledge. 🐓 : "Peki. Peki." (Alright. Alright, in Turkiye) "Map vini!" (I'm coming!) pronounced MOP vin-NY, in Karibbean Krayol). Re CACG... I think it may be too early yet to move beyond conjecture. @MarkFeld : If memory serves, you had conceded having a longstanding friendship with J.A. If you are within the sound of my voice, I believe your intimate insider knowledge of the subject matter under discussion would be most welcomed and well received on this Forum. [Posted at the discretion of Moderation.]

About that '64-D... I believe I was mistaken in attributing as a possible error, the curious appendage abutting Lincoln's head. On re-examination, it seems the seamless juxtaposition of your close-up photos suggests something that appears to be there, but isn't. You are off to a great start! Your photographic skills really help bring out the details clearly. Great job!

Q.A.: Deflection? Not at all! Here's deflection: "Look it up." Sound familiar? 🐓: Have a heart, Q! Make an exception. (That sad face is really beginning to get to me.) Q.A.: Oh, alright... Under the Presidential Succession Act of 1792, the Senate president pro tempore [D.R.A.] immediately followed the vice president in the line of presidential succession. President James Polk's term formally ended on March 4, 1849, at noon, and Zachary Taylor was not sworn in until noon on March 5th. (In observance of the Christian Sabbath, Taylor preferred not to conduct his inauguration on Sunday, March 4th) David Rice Atchison, president pro tempore of the Senate lawfully and legally filled that void and technically became President of the United States for one day. (He only found out about it when he was awakened from his sleep by a supporter seeking a patronage job from him.) My apologies to the OP for intentionally hijacking his thread. 🤣 Posted, as always, at the discretion of Moderation.

🐓: Say Q, remember wondering out loud why anyone who had amassed arguably The Finest collection of custom sets would even bother with less than stellar pieces? Well, here in his own words, is his unique approach to problem-solving... Q.A.: Ah, mystery solved! That explains ev-e-ry-thing -- everything, that is, except who taught you how to read. 🤣 This is one feel-good thread, from start to finish! Man, I love this place!

Yo, redrum guy! You're making me look like a real [expletive deleted] by continuing to insist in your persistence in pursuing this highly irregular agenda. You're a Newbie. Okay, no problem. For lack of a better term, you committed irreversible error. Upshot? Your thread is dead. I gave you the benefit of the doubt early on: pick A or pick B. Or so I thought. Then the jolt in the form of a Reality Check hit, your motive was exposed, and that should have been the end of it. Here, you can sign off on this debacle by humming this tune to the musical score 🎶 from "Superfly"... "Thread is de-ead. bu-, bu-, Bump!... bu-, bu- Bump! bu-, bu- Bump! ... Bu- bu-bu-bu BUMP!" Finito Goomba! Capiche?

Aw pipe down! What a waste of a perfectly good joke! No wonder I have been kicked off this Board more times than I can shake a stick at! Now, take @Mike Meenderink 's rendering of forensic, a few posts upthread, as phorensic. I believe he did that intentionally to get my dander up! But I certainly wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he subtly reached out and touched me. No siree, not me!!!

My all-time favorite was the Intaglio Mint which for reasons unknown, quietly abandoned their line of classic U.S. coins, many rendered in 2-oz .999 silver versions, to pursue Fantasy pieces.

To quote "Henry Bemis" (Actor Burgess Meredith) in the 1959 Twilight Zone episode, "Time Enough At Last,"... "That's not fair! That's not fair at all"...

Hello there, Noob115 (and all of your other 114 presumably close associates)! You are indeed a man of your word (as am I). I may have lost my p/t gig as Guest Moderator, but none of my storytelling ability in my never-ending quest to broaden the coin collector community's collective body of knowledge. I am going to pump up the volume on that delectable morsel, your favorite true-blue 1920 cent, as follows. First and foremost, it survived the still-unsolved Wall Street Bomb Explosion which occurred a minute past noon on September 16, 1920 (since memorialized in a Wikipedia account as having resulted in the deaths of 30 -- and one horse.) You will hear stories about anarchists and the physical damage inflicted on J.P Morgan's bank which is still visible to this day, but rarely the footnote to the affair which involved the unpublicized movement of $900 million in gold bars being moved that day in the sub-Treasury building directly across the street. Re your cent... it was purportedly found in the pocket of the driver of the horse-drawn carriage. That's your back story which you may embellish as you see fit. 🤣 Bear in mind, you are not obligated to prove your assertion to anyone. I am going to withhold comment on the rest of your cents as I do not regard any minted after 1959 as "real" due to their reduced copper content, except to point out that your photo of the '64-D, at post-position 3, features a rather interesting feature abbuting Lincoln's forehead that other members may wish to comment (or concoct another story) on. All in all, a fine presentation!

You are the authority on the 70's. No one would dare display the colossal nerve, or outright audacity of challenging you on your claim on this.

Well, I might as well come clean about this. I was going to say, same here, but I can't. I bought the centennial dime ('16-W) and discovered much to my dismay, that I am biased. Deeply prejudiced. I bought the "thing" because it was my late mother's favorite, a Mercury, and would remind me of her every time I looked at it. But it didn't, hasn't, and never will. The first insult was the ridiculous moniker, "Business Strike." I examined it closely with the 30-power loupe our Kurt specifically forbade me to use and saw none of the detail I should have been able to see on something I had never seen before: a freshly-minted Merc. Then, I believe Kurt, in an aside, inadvertently brought to my attention that owing to its metal composition, gold not silver, it would be smaller. It was. Right here upthread, Sandon innocently disclosed this infernal "thing" clearly lacking the engravers touch, was computer-generated. That was the last straw. Now I want my money back. I do not remember what I paid for it and don't care. Sometime soon I'll post the "thing" on the Marketplace at the original issue price and make somebody's day. And I don't care if spot gold is $3,000. So, anyway, that is why I suggested Slab # 2 (which I would not buy either). Allow me to commend you on your magnificent set of half-cents. Now that's what I call a work of art!

To the OP: I wish to apologize to you publicly for my intemperate remarks. In light of the comments posted before and after mine, it is only right I do so. To shed further light on your discovery, and give it some perspective, you had the tenacity and resolve to examine some 2,000 cents and were so eager to share the good news of your find that you posted photos of it within five minutes of becoming a member, undoubtedly a record that will stand for some time! Congratulations on your find! I believe yours is the only success story I recall reading about since I began my forays onto this Forum.