Henri Charriere

Having just re-read @Sandon's thread regarding artificial vs original toning, I was reminded of my intention to ask you a critical question regarding this post generally, and a few extracts of comments you had made, specifically. Rather than dwell on the nuances of "collecting cultures," I would appreciate your sharing what it is collectors in Germany use to restore their coins to "blast white status," even if it entails subjecting them to a harsh cleaning. Unmentioned in any of this is loss of detail due to wear with resultant loss in value. I would like to know how the two, i.e., cleaning and condition are reconciled or does state of preservation matter only in Stempelglanz (ST) coins which presumably would be stored with enough care to avoid tarnish?

Before you affix that epitaph to stone, I present you with one brain teaser and one brain twister. 1- The ampersand (&) was once the 27th letter of the alphabet. 2- DAVID RICE ATCHISON was once President of the United States. If you or anyone else requests, nay, DEMANDS an explanation or the legitimate source of these assertions, I shall be happy to oblige after a decent and appropriate interval.

No explanation necessary. I enjoy reading everything you've written because your "voice" is unique and stands out from all others. My sole regret is, having elected to opt-out of collecting for fifty years, I am not qualified to weigh in on subject matter I have limited knowledge about.

I cannot understand how such an upbeat topic descended into such chaos. As I have the highest regard for both combatants, and for excellent reasons, I should like to leave both as well as the OP and all other interested viewers with a simple thought a gentleman uttered thirty years ago following a traffic stop. At a news conference, he said, "Can't we all just get along?"

Q.A.: Behold! My latest acquisition. 🐓: A brand-new 2024 Lincoln. First time I've seen one of those! When did you get it? Q.A.: Last nite at the corner bodega. 🐓: I understand the flip, but what's with the $1000 price tag? It's got a rim-ding. Q.A.: EXACTLY! That's the damage it sustained during the Earthquake. When's the last time you saw an 1857-S SSCA coin marked PMD? NEVER! It's a Shipwreck coin, not a parking lot find. Same here. It survived the Earthquake! 🐓 : What earthquake? Q.A.: The one at 10:23 a.m. earlier today. The one you evidently napped through. The whole building was vibrating with intensity. The coin bounced about two inches, off the table, missed my lap, and hit the floor. We're rich I tell you! Rich!!! 🐓 : How 'bout we run this by our Grand Master first? Q.A. Are you crazy? He's gonna want proof! Even a blow-by-blow on video isn't good enough for him! Man, you sure know how to hurt a guy! 🐓: Welcome to Numismatics and the Forum!

... or hinder its inexorable gallop toward the MS-68 Finish Line, unless you persist in squandering your hard-earned money on clearly fanciful pursuits.

... your words, not mine... most telling... ... incidentally... here is how I spell I.R.S., with all caps... Edit ... make that a doubly sad emoji... epitaph is spelled with two pp's...

I am beginning to feel your likelihood of finding something, anything, of note or value is largely dependent on where you live, work, or spend your time. I live in New York City. Every bank and ATM is a branch of the FRB. Same goes for currency. Machine-rolled and shrink-wrapped. No surprises. I should have known better when a young teller at a Chase branch told me if I liked halves, I'd love the dollar coins. I told him not really. I liked the large heavy coins. He said, "that's what I have... the older ones!" My instinct told me no way he meant Morgans. Sure enough, he came out with a dozen hand-rolled Ikes. I got 'em and gave most of them away to people who had never seen them before. My theory is, since most were dual dated Bicentennials, an old-timer held onto them hoping they'd be valuable one day. It wasn't until I became a member and read a thread about them that I learned they were worth more than face. What I would have done had I known better is screen out the better ones and give those away to the members here who collect those things. Anyway, I do enjoy reading about your latest finds! Who knows, you may yet have the last laugh!

Sorry, Jason, you couldn't pay me to do that. In my mind's eye, you are unquestionably the most brilliant person I have had the privilege of ever interacting with, on or off any platform.

This is by far one of the most interesting statistics I have ever come across in the field of numismatics, bar none.

I believe it would have been helpful to crop the photo in such a way as to show the actual mintmark with which the errant marks could have been compared.

@VKurtB : As our globe-trotting, frequent mile flyer, I will put the following question to you since you have more than just a passing knowledge of this seller: What are the chances Chards would sell a customer a counterfeit coin? (By all means, read the foregoing comments made by members, many of whom lack the familiarity with that concern that you do.) To the OP: Fear not. You have dealt with a reputable establishment. Your money will be refunded as per store policy.

In deference to your User Name, I believe it would be prudent for me to abstain from formally responding. On the other hand, I should like to suggest you rid yourself of all problem coins which always seem to demand an explanation, and direct your attention, if I may, to problem-free coins at the upper-grade tier you seem to be partial to. Capiche?

🐓: Wait! This thread is old! Q.A.: I know that. Is it my fault I was marooned in a Siberian Gulag? Two thoughts... 1- Of course vinyls are discernible. Digital don't skip, do they? And 2- Without vinyl, there never would have been the Wild Wonderful World of Rap.

🐓: Whew! Good thing you took my advice, stayed out of this donnybrook and saved your reputation and credibility. Q.A.: You must be new around here! Reputation? Credibility? Respectability? I lost all that Years ago! W.C. was right about two things, though. I bought every coin I have sitting right here in my chair. 🐓: And the other? Q.A.: I took Statistics six consecutive times in college. 🐓:. And??? Q.A.: And I walked out of Statistics six times, got an Incomplete six times in a row, and every Inc. I got reverted to an F! On the plus side, I graduated early.

[You are overlooking the fact, despite your many years here, that some members look forward to hearing what this gentleman has to say whether it be good, bad or indifferent. He is a contender. Matter of fact, I believe he superseded my standing on the Leader board recently! He is a force to be reckoned with.]

The pound sign (£) and for that matter, the euro sign (€) and the dollar sign ($) and Jehovah's name as written in the earliest Hebrew Aramaic texts (removed on orders of King James on or about the year 1611) appeared as a tetragrammaton, none of which is pertinent to the point I was making in my reply to @Zebo. FYI (Note: an acronym which is, without exception, always capitalized): The first class prize for the correct answer, submitted by Moi was a free, one-year subscription to a [an otherwise prohibitively expensive] journal covering such matters as personal privacy, warrants, search and seizure, wiretaps, surveillance, the FOIA and a myriad of other subjects relating to their application in law. Aside: "Dialing a phone number" and "dropping a dime" on someone shall continue to be used long after we are both gone. Submitted for your approval, in my never-ending quest to "broaden the body of knowledge."

[I do not know know the gentleman, only some of what he's written. But I can speak for myself and if someone were to ask me a question like that, regarding a possible hoard, I hate to say it but I would respond in true Noo Yawk fashion, demanding to know: WHO WANTS TO KNOW???] 🤣

Evidently, you have what it takes. With the OP's thumbs-up, I hereby pronounce you the Grand Master of coin video aficionados. (Addict sounds too judgmental) 🤣

Contrary to what you may been told, the Regulars on this Forum are no longer amused by run-on sentences.

Mike, I have what it takes but I am sorry to say I am not a happy camper. When I was but a teenager in the 1960's, I visited the Chase Money Museum down in the Financial District. Admission was free. I was delighted to see what I saw. I was greeted cordially. Fast forward to the future. I am married. I read an article in the N.Y. Times a few years ago informing readers of a move of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) from midtown to the lower West Side (SoHo) My wife, having little interest in coins, had to be cajoled into going with me. As it was a new experience for me, I did not know what to expect. Their entire move, heavily guarded, to 75 Varick Street took place in the dead of night and resembled a military operation to match. It took all night. I waited until they were all settled in, and months later decided to pay them a visit. From the moment I stepped foot into their new address, an isolated area (not far from Canal Street and the Holland Tunnel) my wife and I were treated with suspicion as intruders. We were interrogated at length by a number of unsmiling people. It is no exaggeration to say we were both asked to surrender our ID and had our mugshots taken... ( I would not have been surprised in the least if they insisted on having our fingerprints taken and ordered us to undress for a search.) We were forced to stand for hours (there was no seating as there was no waiting area) and after an interminable wait, was asked why we were there. I told a succession of people we were there to see a single coin: one of their oldest, a Lydian electrum explaining my interest as my father was born were they were made. This only made them more nervous. They asked me what I could tell them about it. All I could say was it was small and believed to be one of the earliest coins made by man. After more back and forth punctuated by long periods of non-communicative waiting, they sent a young woman out to "suggest" we become members @$20 apiece for a total of $40. In most "museums" in NYC, you are simply asked to make a contribution. This was more a demand, with papers to fill out. Incidentally, their "gallery," which is unavoidable as it stands inside the entrace, contains a few cabinets and miscellaneous coins accompanied by small cards with illegible writing in unlit glass display cases which must be viewed from a distance of one foot. (This is analogous to some of the coins Newbies post on our forums, unfocused and uncrowded.) Ever the gentleman, I accepted the application forms, retrieved our Identification, and bid all adieu. Mike, while I wouldn't characterize my interest in coins as "addictive", I am innately curious about them, but allergic to bad form. Had it been me, I would have ushered the two visitors into a room of the fortress otherwise known as the ANS, and informed my guests "While we do not ordinarily make exceptions, and do not entertain many guests, I would be pleased to show you what you've come to see us for." And I can assure you, I would have gone home, read the brochures, and remitted our membership fees. What were the membership fees? (The entire kit and kaboodle may be found at: numismatics.com) summarized as follows: Organization'l Membership $660-$950 Lifetime Membership 49 and under: $3,800 50-64 $3,150 65. + $995 Individual Membership Established member: $195. (Age 36 and over) Young member: $140 (Age 35 or older) Emeritus: $140 (10+ years, Age 35 and under; age 60 and older) Recent Graduate: 35, 1+ year student member (available for one year following graduation.) Student Membership. Active undergraduate or graduate student 35. 🐓

Given the choice of a grade rarity such as a 1995-W-CDAM, which number in the scores, the true "rarity," which in my view (tongue-in-cheeek) would be a designated "lowball" which to date does not as yet exist. I

No, Zebo, I did not. I tell you I was so laser-focused on a comment our Grand Master made in a Topic regarding the fate of that missing coin that Eagles and Half-Eagles were the only thing on my mind. My apologies. I did not even check back right away reasoning no one would be able to come up with an answer right away. I knew France and Germany had many more mints than we had, but I certainly did not know England was had even more and was notably prolific in that regard. If I had it to do over again, I certainly would have made my question clearer. I apologize for the confusion. I have on occasion corrected Wikipedia and even book and newspaper publishers. Much to the surprise of a prominent author of the history of German zeppelins, and having studied the subject exhaustively in my teens, I was successful in proving one such rigid airship was mislabeled; I was the winner of the contest insisting the official name of the symbol, #, was not "the pound sign," but an "octothorpe," and I also resurrected the rumor proving the Daily News inadvertently printed the term "bull----" in the heat of a courtroom argument by citing date of volume and issue number, which had escaped the notice of censors. It remains a novelty. Your point is well-tKen. I do appreciate your input, as aways.

"... curiouser and curiouser," as Alice in Wonderland would say. Or, to borrow from the irrepressible Kurt: "No. Stop it." To paraphrase the Queen of Mean (the late Leona Helmsley) "the non-Mint State coins are for the little people." If what you say is true, let it be. The market decides everything but the level of water which always seems to seek its own level. I am not qualified to weigh in on EF/AU affairs. In my series, I have never set my sights on any example marooned at that level of drought. Now, suggest MS-67 really ought to be worth twice as much as an MS-66, and dem's fightin' words! But again, I am weak and the Market is strong. (Quiet is kept... the reason my F20FrGR set is short, is quite simple. The powers-that-be on high, ruled that World Gold certified by other TPGSs is genetically incompatible with the NGC Set Registry. I decided early on to hew to the MS-66 grade line until it dawned on me MS-66 graded examples had yet to be certified for the older Originals, a fact that, with only 3 out of 8 exceptions, remains true some five years later.) I do not know if the point has been raised, but even if my series were certified under a new scale, either a new set registry would have to be devised, or a suitable conversion table supplied. As I have maintained all along, all of this newfangled stuff is for the benefit of the uninitiated. Those of us who've been around will leave well enough alone.

I am. I would not characterize it as misinformation willfully committed. That distinction is reserved for those who practice journalism. 🤣