Henri Charriere

@GBrad No finer endorsement of admirable unsolicited advice has ever appeared on this Forum. Kudos to our @VKurtB for jumping in to advise a fellow collector! Man, I love this place! Most encouraging development I've heard of since I joined as a member. This is coin collecting finest hour!

Earth to @VKurtB ! Earth to @VKurtB ! Kindly put the "Speed Grahic" down long enough to craft an answer to this question I have never encountered before. Surely you must have some ideas from your vantage point as an experienced buyer at shows...

Quandary: how does one begin to contemplate assigning a fair grade to this? My sympathies, @AcesKings!

Good thing it wasn't a Mint in countries where rats are delicacies. Hey, vhere is dot rot Solzhenitsyn promiss me?

General query: Anyone know why the numeral 8 in 1938 Jefferson Nickels doesn't look more like the 8 as type-written here?

I don't know which coins were ripe for theft but it seems the smallest could have been swallowed -- and passed on later. I wonder what happened to the Mint and any reserves it may have been holding on D-Day in 1917...

I believe you are right. NGC, if memory serves, called it misattributed and assigned it a grade 64 or 63. (The name eluded me.) And, yes, that price sounds familiar.

@GBrad. This is highly irregular but @VKurtB must have seen something that warranted his no-axe-to grind, third-party intervention. Personally, there is a great argument to be made for Mint-State 63 acquisitions -- of a coin he is not even known to actively collect.

What I recall is there was a significance difference in the appraisal by one TPGS, and the other. I lack the necessary qualifications to weigh in on either Final Grading decision but it seems NGC, with no axe to grind, rendered a decision and allowed the chips fall where they may.

@Jason Abshier I have, at times, come across some noticeably brighter Licoln Cents but, rather examine them closely for irregularities, pass on retaining any. I would be remiss in my duty as a responsible collector if I were reluctant to defer to a seasoned veteran like our @Coinbuf who has invested a considerable amount of time and expense to corraling the fines dedicated Lincoln Cents in existence for his clearly world-class collection.

True. True. Much of what I have chosen to retain has to do with trials and tribulations: the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat experienced in the course of acquiring upgrades. One can only imagine the pressures Mr. Partrick was subjected to in attempting to assemble "perfection," -- or striving to achieve it. This is something you yourself have experienced as a Set Registrant.

@Woods020 That's the great thing about Mint State stuff: you have a baseline; you know what to look for. I owned a Barber dime once. A rare 1894-O that was very badly worn and to add insult to injury had a series of marks deep across the obverse such as a pizza 🍕cutter would make. The Red Book then (1963?) put the value, otherwise Fair-Good, at $25-30. Remember it like it was yesterday. It was sold to me for ten cents.

(I don't know from hoards but I could have sworn there was yet another rare Saint auctioned off by Heritage for a mil + just yesterday?)

I have mispronounced this guy's name -- yes, I am aware he is deceased -- my entire life!

Great stuff! 👍

How much more beautiful is this compared with the artificial coloring and flavoring preferred by the Mint masters as expressed in their generic computer-generated fonts? Look at that lettering! The Lost Art of Engraving. All of your coins are quite lovely. You have exquisite taste in coins! Well done! ✔

This looks to be very, very special. Great catch! 👍

I do not ordinarily share, much less broadcast, sensitive top-secret national security intelligence over the open airwaves, but, what the heck, I suppose an exception can be made... Q: What exactly does the Roostermeister, me, look for when examining a raw 🐓 for the first time, in the absence of formal grading instruction and training? 🤔 A: Good question! Believe it or not, I focus in on that area between the back of the Rooster's head and the leading edge of the tail. I have noticed from experience -- you will not find this in any book! -- that if this area, the groove if you will, is untouched and chatter-free, you've got a top-tier specimen in your hand. I check the legends. If there is no evidence of bird strikes, you've landed yourself a big fish. I do not address wear because I have never seen a 🐓 in less than Mint State condition. No abrasion of any kind. Just light, medium or heavy meteor showers and how much original mint luster remains. That's it! Nite all! 😉

Not for nothing, but here's where that 30x loupe comes in handy though I did not need one in this instance. I have cumulative experience to rely on. I got myself a few MS-67's to get an idea of what one of these coins is supposed to look like, up close and personal. I spent many hours poring over the details. I read some remarks from apparent owners discussing "varieties." Such as extended "nines" on the '14's. You get the picture. At first blush, the coin looks magnificent, but looking at it thru the eyes of a "grader," well, let's just say the fields are not pristine and the seemingly minor bruising and scarring and scuffling would weigh heavily against mint state status. If the price of a coin sold by experts seems low, there would have to be a reason why. If it's too good to be true, it probably is. No way in the world an FDC coin would sell so cheaply. Nevertheless, all things considered, a nice coin! Probably the nicest non-Mint State Rooster I have seen in quite some time. 🤔

Yes indeed, I got excited. This is like the 09-S-VDB of Roosters with only 615,000 minted that year of the 117 Million produced for the entire series. Oddly underpriced.

It'll just be my luck to have it grade 64+. Has happened before. The Big question is why is such a precious coin selling for barely more than melt? Gotta be two different coins. I have to amplify that resolution...

No way this can be the same coin. EF, in the rarefied stratosphere of CDMA/MA-SHOPS, would be the reason my long-standing Want List didn't set off alarm bells. That is the prevailing price for EF roosters! A Mint State specimen, would command well over 1K. The last time a 1900-dated coin came up on my radar, Liberty Coins was selling an NGC Matte PF-67 for $24,400 two years ago. Very considerate of you to bring this to my attention! I appreciate it!

Holy cow! I hate doing things under pressure, but I would be a fool to pass up on this opportunity. This is absolutely incredible! The rarest date in the series that is highly suggestive of an FDC grade. There is inherent risk of course, buying sight unseen, the offering being a possible hook to lure in interested parties, and worst of all our venerable @VKurtB's voice echoing in my mind: DO NOT BUY SIGHT UNSEEN! It's already nitefall overseas. Yes, I am interested. This "specimen" looks a whole lot better than my MS-64, the number of owners of which can be counted on one hand. Thanks for the tip!

[I hope I do not offend anyone, but I solved this problem, by cheating. That's right, cheating! I got myself a slab album with the standard 4 leaves which can accommodate a total of 9 slabs per leaf, 36 total. The French 20-franc gold rooster 🐓 run is comprised of 16 coins covering the years 1899-1914. There are no hits, runs or errors. No varieties. (There are, of course, but oddly, none are acknowledged; none enjoy universal recognition.) The first two leaves with 18 spaces, easily displays the entire [16-coin] run. That's the set which the folks ATS won by default. As every man, woman and child in the United States by now is painfully aware, 🐓 in Mint State grade are generally plentiful; it is the earlier "original" eight (1899-1906) that are scarce and largely marooned abroad. If you are a type collector, an entire set can be assembled raw. It's do-able. The third leaf contains high-grade coins which were superseded with upgrades. The fourth and last leaf holds my dedicated NGC short set. Eight years, eight coins... nine spaces. In like Flint. "PROBLEM" SOLVED; MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.]