Henri Charriere

I shouldn't be kidding around like that. @RWB and @Just Bob take a dim view of such antics. And so would @Hoghead515! My sincere apologies to our hosts. 🐓

Recognizing your standing here at NGC, I should have clarified my compilations more clearly. "Rooster Roster," is my No. 1 ranked set at PCGS. If it's any consolation to the gentleman presently ranked No.2 -- whose presentation if far more professional than mine, I would graciously set aside and allow him to assume the throne. Unknown to most 🐓 collectors, fully half the dates in the 16-coin series are difficult to obtain, particularly in the highest Mint State grades in the U.S. I am not reasonably proficient in other languages -- ghetto slang does not count -- and upping the ante, I am not risk-averse. Never have been, never will be. To whom it may concern, I began my compilation with NGC until I experienced a Eureka moment: if you want French 20-franc gold roosters, what better place to begin your search than in Europe. I have heard complaints about higher European prices, fees related to conversion of dollars to Euros (or whatever currencies are involved) high bank wire fees and no guarantee you will get your money back if the bank platform officer if the SWIFT figure you provide is off by a single digit. My attitude is nothing ventured, nothing gained. My NGC Set Registry, I call my "short set," is not complete but my alternatives are unpalatable. Completing two identical sets defies logic and is a waste of time and money. The only way climbing Everest, two or more times, makes sense is if you are a sherpa. I am a New Yorker, a Crimean Tatar and run an orphanage for Roosters. I am also a soothsayer: I predict the gentleman occupying rank #3 on NGC's Set Registry will realize his intention to ascend to the No.1 slot this year, or next, depending on availability; his blitzkrieg made it abundantly clear he is a major contender and not lacking for leads and resources. Me? I want my old job back amongst the buretye variously called extracteur de chariot, rickshaw puller, or barring that, a plain old chiffonnier. 😉

but... not a single member, @RWB @VKurtB @Just Bob @MarkFeld @GoldFinger1969 to name a few, are in possession of descending crimson arrows. I would like to be a big shot, too. Would you be kind enough to share your secret source with me? Thank you for your time and attention. 🐓

Pardon the expression, but that's one heck of a bill. I would suggest a concern that specializes in all manner of currency and banknotes with uncommon serial numbers. This one was printed at a BEP branch facility at Ft. Worth, Texas presumably bound for the FRB at Chicago, Illinois [G7]. Be sure to preserve it with an appropriate [standard] plastic sleeve. Good luck on your find!

First time I've seen one with a nice bronzed look that highlights all the nooks and crannies. 🐓

Now this is something you should rightly be proud to own. Strong solid strike! Curlicue-twos! Strong, forceful, over-sized, three-dimensional stars, and best of all, denticles running interference right off the circumference of the coin against all enemies -- foreign and domestic. The 19th Century: when coins were king and showcased the various engravers' artistic skills! Lovely catch @jtryka!!!

Northwest Territorial Mint. They were the best, until they no longer were. Precious Metals have been, are, and will always be volatile. To stay solvent, they were "forced" to resort to "borrow" heavily from Peter, to pay Paul. I purchased 100 t z silver bars and cashed out locally after receiving a few, and then many disturbing reports from customers whose much larger orders were not being filled in timely fashion. I didn't learn the full story until I decided to buy again unaware of the scandal that had erupted and saturated the news on the internet with customers who had lost everything. I am sure Bernie Madoff's investors felt the same way. The S.S. Central America scandal was a surprise disappointment for me. I only followed the expedition whose meticulously documented research was filmed and recorded for posterity but never would have thought something with such great expectations would end so badly. I believe you are well-positioned to maximize your profits as a cautious, knowledgeable negotiator. I am as simple a collector as you can get with minimal holdings. Do I have what it takes to be a dealer? No. I will find out at the New York International Numismatic Convention, my first, when it comes to town in mid-January 2022. Better late than never.

Yes, Mark. The very best dealers treat their visitors as if they were the most important guests who have honored them with their presence. To some, being polite and attentive come naturally. These are the people, like you, who have long recognized that the customer, the client, the patron, is the very reason for your existence. There are what I call natural-born dealers who hone their craft and are in the business for the long term. Then there are those who are in it for the short term. No offense intended, but these are most often the bullion dealers. They're in it for everything they can get, and when the bottom falls out, they're gone. 🐓

Two questions: What do the initials "O.S." after T.J.'s DOB stand for, and Did they ever catch the guy who stole all the denticles from the reverse side? 😉 Great piece! 👍

@Hoghead515 As one of the most down-to-earth members on the Forum, allow me to further expose my unfamiliarity, i.e., ignorance of numismatics with you by expressing the following comment with my trade-marked reckless abandon: "I absolutely, positively do not have the ability to stand stock still -- whether as a human being or eagle -- long enough to allow a master portraitist or engraver to exercise and execute their artistic talent." 😉

Well, better becoming than bespoke.

Why not? I might need that spot to show off my unusual talent.

I may forfeit my membership for saying this, but I would love to fool the experts and remove that D from the '22 if it's the last thing I do. Not for economic gain, but for professional artistic skill. It would have to be a '22 otherwise people would say, "So what?"

How much "younger" can you get than that '09-S-V.D.B.

Maybe it's time for me to get a becoming sport jacket.

@RWB... For the truly interested, but glaringly uninformed, a polite referral to a helpful Red Book may suffice to complement a soliloquy. Not mentioned in your column is something I have seen done at flea markets: modest price reductions to avoid having to transport all that inventory home at the conclusion of proceedings.

Orichalcum comes to mind and there's not a smidgen of gold in it. Even wear throughout -- and though the tail be gone, the denticles are still smiling and tickle my fancy. They ought to consider a label: Last Year of Issue: pocket watch specimen. A real doozy!

If I buy or purchase a table, may I assume it is mine to fold up and take away with me when all is said and done and the bell retrieved from some famous shipwreck is rung at the end of all festivities?

I am afraid I knew none of this. There is an international coin show in Manhattan, with quite reasonable admission prices the vast majority of our members will not attend, but I will be there, likely with my wife as she does not permit me to go anywhere by myself (citing our contract and agreement, a reference to our marriage license). If I am unable to find a Rooster I need there are sure to be knowledgeable dealers who will be happy to provide business cards and point me helpfully in a productive direction. Hopefully, I will be able to fit in the suit and shoes I wore only once to tie the knot at "City Hall," long ago moved to a vacated office of the state Department of Motor Vehicles nearby.

Well, that certainly differs from the scores of flea markets and street affairs I had attended since the 1960's. The flea markets and fairs were free. One occupied half a city block in midtown Manhattan. The cost of admission was one (1) dollar. A very large, presumably very expensive condominium now occupies every square inch of its formerly unpaved lot. Google's cam car cannot seem to keep up with all the daily changes.

It's beginning look like I am either an imbecile or insufficiently_thoughtful_person, whichever is worse. I was totally unaware tables were "purchased" or "bought" and am unable to gauge the relative ratings regulating "business practices" beyond the Better Business Bureau. If I "rent" a table in advance, and either do not show up or leave early, who here is the victim? Who is the inevitable loser? If Quintus Arrius fails to show, who cares? If a well-recognized dealer with an impeccable reputation is MIA, that may be cause for action or alarm. A good p.r. person or spokesman authorized to speak for attribution will steadfastly claim his client's absence is due to a scheduling conflict, sickness, or my personal favorite: a prior commitment. My only question is: Is this enough of a problem to make an issue of?

I've got only one complaint. These coins are dated 2021, right? Would anyone care to venture a guess as to why the powers that be felt compelled to place those mint marks on raised pedestals? They are unnecessary, gratuitous, serve no useful purpose, are grotesque and totally without redeeming value. The biggest shame is I never really wanted them (the first two) to begin with, do not know who I "purchased" them from, and have no idea when I should expect to receive them. I paid a heavy third-party price for the "privilege" of seeing what they look like... and I don't have a single original Morgan to compare them with. I couldn't care less if I don't get 'em by Christmas. That's what I get for strayin' from Roosters...

[To the membership-at- large. Gentlemen of the numismatic persuasion, with the display of this coin dated 1995, featuring the Lincoln Memorial, I am faced with the unenviable task of retracting every bad word I have ever thought, entertained or uttered against this undeniably exquisite top-tier specimen years after Wheaties bit the dust.]

@Mohawk. Thanks. By the way, I invented a new flowery name for your orichalcum: ORCHID.

Attn: @Ali E., Administrator... Twenty years from now after advising collectors their numismatic wares would be more appropriate for Custom Sets and taking other matters under advisement, someone will ask you, off the record, whether a member had ever stumped you with a question you could not answer... "Come to think of it," you will say, "someone did." No, not an example of stone money from Yap, but something closer to home. It is a little-known fact, apparently not acknowledged by anyone, that an unknown number of 1906 French 20-franc gold roosters were embossed along their edges with Liberte * Equalite * Fraternite instead of Dieu * Protege * France. [Note: the former was standard on the "original" pieces minted from 1899-1906; the latter was standard on the "restrikes" minted from 1907-1914.] My question is what proof would I be obligated to present to you, short of the coin itself, to have this "variety" recognized and accepted by NGC?