Henri Charriere

Honestly, I never even considered if the move would make economic sense. I thought this was simply a logistical matter of shipping valuables, irrespective of reason, from Point A to Point B and an open solicitation for advice. However, the above excerpt from your comment was an eye-opener. I no longer collect U.S. coins and was unaware a). there was less demand for them overseas, and b). the prices overseas run lower! I personally don't see any advantage in moving a collection there is little demand for, but this is a call the OP will have to make. I appreciate the clarification. 🐓

O-ka-a-a-y. A '74-P. The War Nickels, I understand, but the '74, not so much. I had already stepped out of the hobby by then and know nothing about them. Now the staples look suspiciously familiar. [☆ side note to collectors: to avoid crimpage/crimping, lower the arm of the hammer onto the cardboard two-by-two first, and then give it a decisive whack.] Very lovely, Mr. Bill! 🐓

[ 🐓: Are you going to let him (@TonerGuy) get away with that?! Q.A. With what? 🐓: Using high-octane language like that on the Forum? There may be Newbies out there! Q.A.: Actually, the term, seldom used, so much so that I cannot recall the last time I heard it, is fine. And furthermore, I happen to agree with him. 🐓: How so? Q.A.: Well, not so much with old gold, but I can definitely identify with those dabbling in nicely toned silver and copper pieces. Accordingly, one can only speculate... Like many other collectors who've put their incredibly well-toned possessions out there for all to see, I would imagine that availability and price might dictate tastes or an irresistible impulse to fill a hole 🕳 with something -- anything to complete a collection first and then move on to the laborious task, very often lifeong, of continually upgrading. 🐓: Is that what Mr. Partrick did? Q.A.: I don't know. I assume so. There had to be a starting point but, then again, one's trajectory is subject to change without notice. If you look at the Set Registry, you will be blind-sided by the incredibly broad array of sets assembled by single individuals. Directing one's attention to just toned coins requires discipline and long-term endurance. We cannot all own a Mint State cherry 🍒 red, FDOI, right off the assembly line Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, so in the meantime, we do the best we can to get what we are really after, as circumstances allow and that inevitably means settling for less. Nothing more complicated than that. 🐓: Well said, Roostermeister! Q.A.: 😉

[Lemme see now... that's an awfully nice-looking nickel there. Must be one of LemE's numbers.] 😉

Alright, so you are here and you want to ship over there? Check with the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx International and DHL on rates and available destinations. The arts/collectibles businesses you've mentioned all have shipping departments. As an individual you would have to do your own comparison shopping. It is not possible to answer your question in a responsive way without additional information.

If you are overseas, you would be ideally situated to sell. Your collection would fetch top dollar and you would save yourself the grief that comes with Customs, insurance, and freight shipping costs, not to mention health and security concerns in these uncertain times. But if you cannot bear to part with your collection, get in touch with locals who routinely ship valuables overseas for available options.

[Uh-oh! Watch out! Mad scientists carrying hot 🔥 steaming flasks and wearing protective gear are out and about, but remember... Past results do not guarantee future outcomes; Certain restrictions apply: liquid concoctions applied under direct sun- or lamplight also 🤔 will haze or otherwise leave a residue on plastics, metals or glass; Your experience may differ. Hikurangi Margin may be small but reputational blast radius is incalculable and sometimes even irreversible. Exercise care!] 🐓

I don't know if I am amenable to sharing my certified status 🤔 as King of the Dummies on this board with other members and pretenders to the throne much of my own making and to my eternal embarrassment! I had to actually go back to some notes I had jotted down nearly three years ago just to answer your simple question... let's see now... Toning...where does it fit in in the general scheme of things? Strike? Preservation? Luster? Color? Eye appeal? 👁 I can only say I know it when I see it, but is it necessarily toning? Sometimes it's difficult to pin down. I secretly love iridescent, peripheral cobalt blue 💙 toning but am reluctant to state that publicly. And I am a moody sort. 🙃 What I say I like today may not hold true for tomorrow, and I have been called out on my inconsistencies. We all like blast whites but only on certain coins. We all like strong strikes but not if they have occurred on coins of no interest to us. We tend to gravitate to different series for different reasons. I don't like the 2021 you-know-whats I haven't even seen, just the same as I wouldn't care for a silver SG or a Buffalo Head if it were copper or clad [or even a psychedelic Rooster]. And if I had it to do all over again I would probably continue repeating what I have always done: begin a series and upgrade continually. But the air is thin in the upper stratosphere, and when the pickings get slim, I get bored but keep my antennae extended. All of the factors you and our fellow members have cited, I myself find attractive. But if you asked me why I bought that old Venezuelan gold piece I could only tell you I wanted to see that horse on the reverse looking backwards up close and toning had nothing to do with it. My thirst was satiated; I moved on. Yours is a very honest and humble approach to collecting and people like that. Kudos to you and all the collectors out there 👏.

[Thought I would politely point out that the "torch" and "cornucopia" featured on either side of this coin's denomination, "5 0," are anti-counterfeiting measures introduced by the French mint on or about 1901. I have no idea why I would know this.] 🐓

@AcesKings Notwithstanding some high-point wear, which does not in any way detract from the overall magnificence of this classic masterpiece, this coin retains and exhibits all the natural, original mint luster and eye appeal -- attributes I envisioned I would receive -- when I initially championed the cause of authorizing a centennial observance and placed my order for the 2021 coins. No flat, washed-out, fancy-schmancy satiny finish, no troubling post-mint damage or other issues, whatsoever. Whatever happened to the Good Old Days when the expectation of excellence from the Mint was a given? Now there are no one-size-fits-all Proofs. Instead, the hobby will be bedeviled by those whose claims of "mine is better than yours" will be validated by experienced graders. The conclusive proof (pardon the pun) is there for all to see in the photos posted in this thread. Thank you, @AcesKings ! The defense rests... 🐓

Had to come back and take another look... The Mint is perfectly capable of delivering an exquisitely executed, stunningly sculptured coin with real relief 100 years before the Hindenburg disaster -- coins designed and created by artists and engravers that made the average person feel proud and distinguished to be accorded the honor of holding them in one's hand at a time when dimes were dear -- and, yet, is stymied, FF to the future, when asked to render a mere revised copy of an uncomplicated but beloved design in larger scale... what am I missing here? This is why collectors look back to the past when a coin, such as this, looked really good and made the ordinary man feel a sense of importance and accomplishment. Thank you @Mr_Spud for making my day!

I "liked" your coin, @GBrad, because "love" is not available. I have a personal question to ask you. I don't know if by "picked up" you mean loose, in person, in hand or a flip but... would you have bought this coin sight unseen, uncertified, seller unknown (but with a stellar reputation) SOLELY on the strength of the photographs 📸 you have provided us? I would and I have on grade alone, as you probably know, and I can't imagine anyone having a problem doing so, particularly where the photography, as here, is superior, but am curious nonetheless. 🐓

@Zebo I believe I have come up with a common numismatic term, we all use, that describes these 2021 Morgan and Peace dollars to a T. But before I inflict it on you, the OP, and those who may be lurking about, pretend you are a juror with no prior knowledge of the testimony you are about to hear or evidence you are about to see. In probably every other instance on this Forum where a coin's appearance is dismissed/discounted/denounced, the term used is lobbed as a one-word epithet: "CLEANED." Forget everything you may have heard or read about these coins and approach them with an unbiased mind 🤔 with no axe 🪓 to grind: they look "CLEANED." Don't take my word, or anyone else's, for that matter. First impression: they have an unnatural but somewhat familiar, deja vu-look that virtually scream "CLEANED!" And, quite frankly, it would not surprise me in the least if those members who have been most vocal in expressing their disdain for counterfeiters and their products, would detest these coins similarly, or worse, as Chinese knock-offs... if they bore any of the dates of the original series... IMNSHO. 🐓

Your alibi rings true. After all, if it "absolutely, positively" must get there... Mississippi is right next door too, but does the mild-mannered Token Man have the connections? I'm inclined to let you slide on this one. 🐓

Nothing not to like here. Even the patina could not conquer this lovely piece. The coin bears fine font-work and a heaviness in its execution that belies its indispensability in ordinary commerce. Their unique unwieldiness, more evident when held in [protected] hands, is what continues to make them a favorite of all collectors. 🐓

@Mohawk Now this is what I'm talking about! It's impossible to recall every artistic touch in a single glance. There is so much going on here. Just what I need when @Alex in PA.shows up with one of his growling dogs. (I would comment further, but I've got a chaperone on either side of me and D peering over my shoulder.) Very exotic exonumia. 🐓

Direct quotes... Mr. Q.A.: "What do you think of this one?" 🤔 Ms. A.: (stated with a distinct French accent)... "It's byoo-ti-FULL! It's a byoo-ti-FULL coin! How much i'ZEET?" Q.A.: "It's not for sale. This is a web site where coin collectors share their treasures with other coin collectors." Ms. A: "Oh, rilly?!" Q.A.: "Thousands of coins going back fifteen years!" Ms. "Wow! Where this people find all this money?" 🐓 P.S. Fine denticular aspect. Exceptional eye appeal. Pristine fields. FCL-24FR: Full Column Lines; 8 Full Reeds in each of the 3 columns, 24 in all.

@MorganMan Interesting piece. The FBL put you in the running 🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️ but that die break in the bell 🔔 cost you a few points. . . Just kidding! Great find! 👍 🐓

@gmarguli Sir, you are making it very difficult for me to maintain my dislike for these new coins, the Morgans in particular. Are you suggesting I open the box 📦 and at least take a look at them before I return them and before the FMV gods have come to a provisional decision on what their price will be? What really kills me is I was one of the collectors who saw merit in the proposal to submit a resolution to Congress endorsing their production and now I am sitting here very patiently, bold chisel-edged permanent black marker in hand and can't wait to desecrate the box with "REFUSED" and "R.T.S." with a red arrow pointing to the return address. I should've stuck to 🐓...

So there was evidently a design change. 🤔 The stars were dispensed with probably because of space limitations due to the continual admission of new states to the Union. But, pardon my ignorance -- and stubborn resistance to acquiring any Red Book, has any five-cent piece borne the word "nickel" at any time since their introduction? Anybody?

I am going to chalk this up to unfamiliarity with the unorthodox way I express myself. My fault. If I offended you in any way I am truly sorry. Most assuredly not a case of arachnaphobia; I automatically assume everyone knows better than to pay any attention to me. Now the damage is done. You've dignified my off-hand observation by responding to it. Forgive me, spiderman. 🕷 🐓

Note: Gentlemen, kindly note that, unbeknownst to me, this subject was first addressed in a thread entitled, "New discovery Quarter-Ounce...," by member @ccroger in greater detail on 10/26 and is still quite active. I graciously defer to him and those who left comments on his post.

Well, exc-u-u-se me, but there are still a few collectors who were around when coins were real. And paper money was positively exquisite.

Haven't you heard? Black is the new Black ⚫.

Membership has its privileges. 🐓