Henri Charriere

[Looks like I am going to have to dispense with the "wordsmithing" routine and become a functionally literate, well-educated human being.] 🐓

My understanding of proof coins is it is a process, not a grade, and not all are created equally, e.g., "matte" [finish] proofs. If you were to address these two aspects, firmly and with finality, I would be more than satisfied. (I am not even going to ask who or what motivated the powers that be to officially offer them in sets beginning in 1936, or thereabouts.) 🐓

I believe two things: 1- There are many more than two Small Date 1982-D copper cents, and, 2- Only Ratzie33, a former linotype operator, is presently licensed and authorized to access the means of production. The problem is a simple one: supply and demand. He is content to limit production of his one-or-two-of-a-kind "newly-discovered" creations. BTW, I had always thought these anomalies were more often found in U.S. Mint Uncirculated Proof sets, but if only two have surfaced after all these years and attendant publicity, I will defer to the experts.

I don't know if it will be cancelled but I do know some guy named Omicron (who goes by one name like Banksy and Madonna) enjoys a world-wide reputation, and calls all the shots.

@Coinbuf Ordinarily, I am partial to what I call peripheral (circumferential) iridescent blue toning but your most unusual cent is exceptionally appealing and I am obliged to make an exception. Thank you for the courtesy of your reply!

Humor is ok; "inappropriate" humor, never. Want to hear a real knee-slapper? I never knew what VAM stood for until you posted this thread. 🐓

@leeg It appears someone has read "all those issues of The Numismatist, Mehl's Monthly, ANS journal and coin-club minutes and other references from the early 1900's." How else to explain the unequivocal stance of @RWB against him, and with such fervor? The opening paragraph on hobo nickels was an eye-opener and something I never thought about beyond the creative artistic talent exhibited. Hard to believe anyone in numismatics today can get so worked up about something that occurred so many years ago, but then again my father (deceased) was adamant in insisting the Armenian genocide of 1915 never happened. Thanks for reprinting the responses received by the current issue here.

@Coinbuf Did you purchase this raw? Exposure to what chemical or environment would impart a bluish tone to a copper coin? Is it your knowledge of this type of coin that gave you the confidence to aquire it solely on the strength of the photos 📸 alone. First 1915-D I've ever seen. This is in a class by itself!

This is what @Conder101 would refer to as a mule. 😉 Kidding aside, I once had a 1-kilo Kookaburra and a precious metals concern wanted to drill a hole into it! Note to new collectors: whether encased in OGP or not, never take your bullion coins to anyone unfamiliar with hallmarks and coins and rely solely on spot. Very nice coins!

Strictly off the record, my wife, who calls the shots, says due to the "agreement" and "contract" I signed (marriage license) she is obligated to accompany me everywhere. Bearing that in mind, I don't need to spend a few days at NYINC. I believe I can knock out the whole shebang in a few hours: "Any Roosters?... Anyway Roosters? (I will carry my favorite encapsulated example and produce it discreetly like an FBI agent.) No refreshments. On the move methodically reviewing the displays. A strictly in-and-out affair. All business. 🐓

No, afraid not. The OP, like Ratzie, et al., is fixated on errors. The only errors they seem to come up with is a plausible story line to go with their various relics. This wouldn't have gotten by Stevie Wonder and it wouldn't have gotten by me -- and I have cataracts. (Incidentally, 🐓 are commonly described in specs as 21mm but they are factually a tenth or two-tenths wider in diameter, but their rich golden color would be a dead giveaway.)

I stand corrected. The one and only one I ever saw in the Chase Money Museum, I believe, was in Mint State 63 😉 condition.

I could have sworn someone mentioned my "yellow chickens" but I have been warned about non-numismaticesoterica and indulging in off-topic tapioca. @Hoghead515 is very lucky. He's got an '18 half-mark, the envy of anyone who has ever had a penny farthing, with a Denver mint-mark no less! (Okay, just kidding, but the Germans did have at least ten mints.) I believe I still have a Hindenburg something or other with a swastika on it, my North Korean 5,000 Won note, the gazillion-dollar Zimbabwean note ➕️ a few odd, less frequently seen oddities were removed after now MIA long-time member, MM, others had been inquiring about, posted a historic gem the better part of discretion will not allow me to describe. Anyway, Back on Track... there are hundreds of bird-srtrikes on NYC skyscrapers every year during migratory seasons and everyone knows about the jetliner that was hit after take-off and had to ditch in the Hudson River. No yellow chickens. 🐓

Pending a dispatch from the Great Zadok strongly suggesting otherwise re Yapanese sculpting, no coin is inviolate to toning. The problem arises when it becomes difficult to distinguish natural from artificial toning. I suppose a coin featuring a psychedelic spiral or tie-dyed effect is an interesting or annoying novelty, and many coins appear to have had their natural toning further enhanced or artificially accelerated, but like most collectors of legitimate collectibles, I prefer coins with light toning much the way your average person is partial to scents with subdued floral notes or a woodsy bouquet. Just a delightful suggestive hint; never an overpowering display. 🐓

Actually, as reported on a news wire years ago, six consecutive spins of a roulette table produced the same numbered ball, so this is possible however unlikely. The only mystery here is why the OP has chosen to remain mute. Despite @RWB's helpful contribution in providing a contrasting coin for comparison, no comment issues. Before zadok dismisses the controversy as a Moot Point, I'd like to try a different, decidedly impertinent approach sure to elicit a response: To the OP: WHY DID YOU THINK CLEANING THE COINS WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA?

@Hoghead515 You've done very well here! To paraphrase Virgil, the poet... "Smooth the descent, and easy is the way," to compiling a type collection. But to insist on excellence or patiently await a suitable upgrade as you have so masterfully done..."In this the task and mighty labor lies." When I allowed that my original intention was to compile a quality collection of 16 you-know-whats in 90 days in one of my earliest posts, our globe-trotting, on-site commentator VKurtB let out a snicker that was audible in all 50 states. Little did I know that mine was but a pipe dream. Keep on keeping on Hog. You're halfway there already! And as the Good Book says, "....let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Great catch! Great grade! 👍

What enquiring minds want to know is when was the last time a guilty verdict was rendered?

The OP cannot answer this question (and neither I, you, or anyone else can) because if he knew he'd know which of the two establishments he had patronized had given them to him.

Deleted.

Thanks. Greatly appreciated.

@DWLange: I vaguely recall that at some point, the Red Book began publishing the values of old Red books from their inception with the 1947 edition, I believe, being the rarest. There are collectors who collect old encapsulations they term "generations," or "gens," for short. It never occurred to me that old cardboard blue Whitman holders might someday accrue value but who thought baseball cards and comic books would someday become collectibles in their own right? Fantastic collection! 🐓

No, not all. And even if it did, what could be done about it? It's been authenticated, certified and encapsulated.

@jtryka: I would give it a quick dip in Pepsi-Cola, but then it would look like a 2021: flat and lifeless.

Negative. She did not take it and would not allow me to take it. (Her father (deceased) was a pastor and she is religious. (She prays to God before we leave the house, has virtually memorized the Bible which she studies daily and prays again at nite, in excess of 10 minutes -- all in her native language, French.) The station clerks in subway stations refuse to accept lost items and will direct you to the only Lost & Found in the system located underground at 34th Street and 8th Avenue, which uses the same antiquated system which facilitated the theft of the French Connection drugs worth $73 M from the police property clerk's office in 1972. Sadly, her mother "left" i.e., passed away yesterday morning.

Rotation aside, would someone be kind enough to explain why, in a grade-blind test, the 64 looks infinitely better than the 67, solely on the strength of the photos provided?