Henri Charriere

[TO MY LEGIONS OF DETRACTORS, @zadokCHIEF AMONG THEM... IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO PRESENT TO YOU A SINCERE, NO-HOLDS-BARRED COMPLIMENT FROM A MEMBER WHOSE TENURE HERE PRECEDES MINE, AND NOT A FEW OTHER MAJOR CONTENDERS. TO THE OP: BY VIRTUE OF YOUR LONGEVITY HERE, IT IS ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE YOU WOULD RISK YOUR REPUTATION AND CREDIBILITY TO CONCUR WITH SOMETHING I HAVE WRITTEN. YOU ARE IN POSSESSION OF A NUMBERED HISTORICAL ARTIFACT. I DO HOPE YOU, AND YOUR HEIRS, FULLY APPRECIATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT YOU HAVE AND TREASURE IT ALWAYS!] 🐓 (Posted at the discretion of Moderation.)

Three hun'red thirty-three million people in this country, and not a one could be found who had mastered the art of simple penmanship. So now: Behold! Poor penmanship mangled by machinery. Nice.

You are either a Mexi-CAN, or a Mexi-CAN'T. I use provenance, not because our Grand Master may be watching, but because applying pedigree to an inanimate object doesn't seem proper. I have spoken. So let it be written, so let it be done.

So, you feel this was a missed opportunity, huh? Not me. Having successfully deluded myself in truly believing I never bid that much at auction, I believe the angels were on your side. Clinically, you did not see any more of the coin than I did. Another member gave you a background check on the seller. What I saw that disturbed me was the inexplicable color contrast which I assume we were all supposed to disregard. The overriding question which was never answered -- had I spotted the item on eBay, with nothing to lose, I would have dared to ask it, was: "If submission were cost-effective, why haven't you certified it?" Put another way, How could certification hurt? After all, considering the entire universe of realistic bids that could have been placed, are not they all recoverable? Mike, I believe you dodged a bullet; in the face of unrelenting pressure you performed well and exercised great discipline.

But, but... the value of a coin lies in great part on the grade bestowed upon it. Some collectors are partial to tasteless toning, debilitating die cracks -- even machine doubling. But the baseline begins at grading. If your '09-S VDB is pitted and corroded, you have my condolences.

🐓: Where do you stand on that '95-W ASE, Q? Q.A.: I am going to guess this is one of the very few coins minted in low numbers that have all survived, if not individually accounted for. In my lifetime, there were basically only two rarities, dictated by mintages and/or grade. The 95-W is what I regard as a "premeditated production rarity." It's rarity was "manufactured." It's initial distribution was "restricted." Like it or not, it is a genetic showpiece. It was not produced for circulation; there weren't even enough made for collectors. It was a key date in the year it was minted. It shall remain a key date for the foreseeable future.

There are a great many assertions and observations offered best left to the other combatants to sort out. I would like to address just the excerpt I have singled out. It's the late 1980's. You have just been recruited as a freshly minted, anointed grader. The bulk of TPSs submissions, I would imagine, would comprise coins that have experienced circulation. (Bear in mind, the virus that causes the afflicted to submit perfectly good Proof coins still lodged in OGH had not yet been isolated and identified.) Your tendency, possessed with unchecked powers, is to allow your emotions to supersede your training. But The Company men are there to stress to you that if you freely assign lovely coins higher grades, what will you do when the real McCoy comes along? @Coinbuf who knows a thing or two about stellar examples, dropped a jewel here. IN THE BEGINNING, man had to tread easy. Once overgraded, there's no going back. So coins were conservatively graded and in later years experienced collectors with discriminating eyes would spot them and resubmit them for a higher grade. I have no problem with this. It is, in fact, the first time a plausible explanation has been aired here as credible fact. 🐓

Fine lineup... Of what transgression was it said he was responsible for?

A prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house. Happy Easter, all!

Yes, this is known as Steward's Folly. A once Uncirculated example loses only its standing on the totem pole. Not so the Proof. It is obliged to change its religion. There is no such thing as an unobservant Proof. It either is, or is not.

Aside from Proofs, which are presided over by their own coterie of Principal Keepers, this is a very simple concept. If a coin exhibits "wear," whatever the cause, it has irretrievably lost its claim to its birthrite: "uncirculated." It is condemned as circulated. If it be an otherwise uncirculated coin but was assaulted, that fact is noted by AU-59. That lets the collector know there is NO wear save for the intrusive disqualifying mark, it is NOT circulated. It is an uncirculated coin that, through no fault of its own, encountered a hit-and-run. If a coin exhibits no "wear" whatsoever, regardless where it was found (in circulation, or not) it retains its birthrite, "uncirculated." Unfortunately, bag marks on old silver dollars, punched Trade Dollars, and the like, have been granted exemptions, to a point, as have otherwise exemplary examples which are granted variances from the tables of preservation, for cause. In some quarters, this is known as the time-tested Charrier's principle. No coin can aspire to AU status. That can only be achieved by default from higher grades and only by invitation and acclimation. Bear in mind, rendering an opinion is not an actionable offense. Like it or not, the grade of a coin is what its owner says it is. This goes for price as well.

The only provision eBay provides basically says the iitem I was sent was not as described. With or without this, I would still be hesitant about sending any seller that kind of money. A member upthread brought up a good point: why wasn't the coin certified? And doubly-so for dealers who enjoy bulk submissions rates. A certification provides a yardstick. Without it, the coin collector is wholly dependent on flowery words and trick photography exacerbated by a ticking clock.

Bear in mind, I am merely quoting Wikimedia. I am only the messenger.

T-B/SOL (note to myself) One valid piece of advice: regardless or age or provenance, bargain box or Cracker Jack box, accustom yourself to holding ALL coins, regardless of known or perceived value, properly, by their edges. This will hold you in good stead as you rise through the ranks of the hobby.

... I do not think I can be a part of anything that sees nothing wrong with this ... if there is any truth to this whatever, it bodes ill for the hobby, ten and twenty years hence ... (Reminiscent of the 2001 movie, "Training Day," where Denzel Washington turns to Ethan Hawke, and says, in substance, Forget about everything you learned in the police academy.) This is one of the reasons why prices I saw in the Red and Blue Books, various newspapers and sheets, as I discovered early on, had no bearing in New York City. From the 1960's on, the city's dealers always marched to the beat of a different drummer. One of the questions assiduously avoided on the Forum is: "What do you reasonably hope to get for the coin you bought when it comes time to sell?" Fortunately, the inexorable rise in gold has effectively wiped out whatever mistakes I made or misgivings I may have had in compiling one of the finer collections of certified, century-old, French gold coins. 🐓

Back on Track "The $5 denomination has the distinction of being the only denomination for which [gold] coins were minted at eight US Mints." Wikipedia - Distinctions "Although circulating half eagle products was discontinued in 1929, half eagle commemmoratives and $5 denominated (1/10 ounce bullion coins were minted at West Point starting in the late twentieth century. Proof coins were produced at Philadelphia from 1859 on." It appears, minus the "trick" fact included under Distinctions last, member Sandon came closest to providing the answer to the question. (Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, Carson City, Dahlonega, Charlotte -- and West Point.)

I suppose you could say my parents were atheists. That's why I turned out so good. 🤣

... percy... you mean Percival??? Enquiring minds want to know!

I have devoted the better part of an hour trying to locate this coin, without success. I have barraged eBay in the past on their practice of including, in addition to your coin, coins of other denominations, dates, mintmarks -- and other metals, e.g., gold. No luck. Solely on the strength of Coinbuf's input, I would reconsider the effort. Too much money is at stake for a coin that hasn't been certified and isn't in-hand. Malheureusement, I do not know if you need this coin, or simply want it. ( I saw quite a few offerings with different dates sporting original, gorgeous mint luster.) My search for Denver Coins, frustratingly included coins minted in Denver! Do me a giant favor and check two things right now: their written (advertised) return policy (if they have one) + Recent Reviews. Good luck, Mike!

Why all the wonderment? If "seek and ye shall find" doesn't help, there's an app for that: NGC's own dedicated Forum, "Ask NGC/NCS."

Only one coin had the distinction of being produced in eight different Mints. (If I can remember which it was, I will dutifully post the answer on Easter Sunday, otherwise known as April Fool's Day.)

Nothing I have read suggests a reason why the G-G Half-Eagle, as proposed, was abandoned in favor of the the recessed Indian. The matter under discussion, concerned, per Treasury letter dated Jan. 18, 1908, the "replacement" of IGWT, suggesting substitution. The gold half eagle design had undergone a number of changes in design, weight and specifications, particularly size. When introduced in 1795, and over a succession of years, the diameter of the coins shrank from 25 to 23.8 to 22.5 and finally 21.6 mm with the introduction of the Indian. However, seeing as how the designer of the contemporary 1909 Lincoln cent was able to accommodate the motto IGWT within a diameter of 19 mm, I am not persuaded inclusion of the motto had anything to do with jettisoning the S-G design.

Absolutely nothing is lost if we treat others the way we wish to be treated. The manner in which you are treated does not matter. Set your standard high, and keep your counsel.

I agree. As it stands, the gentleman has a superior coin with an incontestable provenance: "First Strike." How would he like all the attributes that go along with that sullied by a grade that may be less than stellar. Anything less than an MS-70 would be an unwanted distraction. IMHO.

I do not know the source for those percentages, but I believe the anecdotal evidence suggests as much. I do not believe cannibalization of U.S. Mint products was as widespread as it is now with the advent of TPG certifications.