Henri Charriere

@VKurtB and @Ross J If it weren't for gold, we wouldn't have that classic line from "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948) starring Walter Huston and Humphrey Bogart: "I don't have to show you any stinking badges." Or how about: "Water's precious. Sometimes may be more precious than gold..." With respect to the latter, have truer words ever been spoken? More to the point, can you imagine @GoldFinger1969 rethinking his position, throwing his hands up, and saying: "Okay, OK. I always knew gold was inherently evil. But that was the past. I'm into V-nickels and Large Cents now..." Ain't gonna happen.

On the other hand, @cladking called clad coins a technological marvel and I went from regarding them as repugnant genetic mutations to being an acceptable form of modern coinage. Bizzaroworld, sho nuff.

Like Olive Oyl [of Popeye the Sailor Man] would say: "That's me all over!" As I believe I've made abundantly clear to all on this Forum (to the point of irritation and nausea) 🐓 collectors refer to the easier of the 16-coins to collect -- "restrikes" in the U.S.; "redistributed" in France 🇫🇷 (1907-1914) -- as the "short set." The earlier, more difficult to find coins (1899-1906) are referred to as the "originals," minted and distributed during the years displayed on the coins.

I think it safe to say that just as NGC, PCGS, ANACS, etc. are expected to conform to USA grading standards, so too are these same businesses -- and GENI, likewise obligated to conform to the grading system used in France 🇫🇷, with corresponding "equivalencies," as follows: B (Beau) from G-6 to F-14 TB (Tres Beau) from F-15 to VF-39 TTB (Tres tres Beau) from XF-40 to AU-54 SUP (Superbe) from AU-55 to MS-62 SPL (Splendide) MS-63 and MS-64 FDC (Fleur De Coin) from MS-65 to MS-70 BE (Belle Epreuve) Proof BU (Brillant Universal) Brilliant Uncirculated This upstart, GENI, has apparently been around since 2017 and is recognized by numiscorner.com and cgb.fr Numismatique Paris among other highly reputable firms, but I was unaware of their existence because I never requested certification of my French coins through their service though I have been collecting them since 2018. 🐓

Welcome to the Forum! To answer your question, stick around and you shall soon find out. 🐓

@Ross J Firstly, to set the record straight, the remark regarding gold and evil, actually voiced by My Cousin Vinny, was inadvertently misattributed to the Great Zadok. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, on to the matter at hand: hoards. As you may have occasion to recall, I billed my 🐓 Set Registry "The Herostratus Hoard." Any connection to the reviled historic figure? None. It's just another example of introducing literary liberties with a term that promotes attention, interest and mystery. (It was Hollywood that dispensed with "vodu," an officially recognized religion in Haiti 🇭🇹 to the far more suspenseful "voodoo.") If you prefer, I would be happy to re-name my complete short collection of solid MS-66 🐓 🐓 🐓 in your honor. Then some of the invective I have been forced to endure, can be directed to you. (One error I did not make was call my less than stellar collection, "The World's Finest." That gentleman has had to re-name his set three times!) Re Gold... it's extraction, along with other "elements," deforestation, the dwindling sources of fresh water world-wide, the disappearance of butterflies 🦋 and climate swings, tribal allegiances, etc., each in their own way pose a far greater threat because their collateral damage is involuntary, unsolicited -- and, to some extent, irreversible. Incidentally, I subscribe to the investment philosophy espoused by Andrew Tobias which can be expressed in a Henny Youngman-like one-liner: "If you want to save money, don't spend any." 😉

[I am in too deep to contemplate investigation of yet another TPGS I never heard of and because I have been stricken with set registrant fever for which there is no known cure, anything I acquire from any source at whatever cost would have to undergo cross-grading, a hazy labyrinth to which there is no road map, but requires additional costs. I have my own sneaky suspicions but it would be the height of folly to attempt a valid extrapolation based solely on my limited exposure to a single series of coins minted in one country, once upon a time. As noted elsewhere on another thread, I began my quest with raw coins, violated my life-long religious beliefs and switched gears to encapsulations with NGC, only to discover the reason why so many set registrants throw in the towel is due to the scarcity of the earlier coins which constitute half the series. Enter PCGS, by default -- not choice. They apparently locked down the European market for 20-franc gold roosters, a claim I want to qualify by stating I am not qualified to make a blanket statement beyond that. If I had my druthers I would cross-grade all coins to NGC and attempt to compile the finest collection that can be assembled. The OP asks, "Did I get burned?" I know I did, skewing prices and taking irrational risks, but you are only a loser if you didn't learn from your mistakes. I am accessible. Anyone can PM me here and contact me "over there." But the collectors of this series are notably uncommunicative. Almost everything I've learned was through trial-and-error and the occasional helpful tip. Recently, one of my many detractors charged me with being incapable of staying away from the Forum. I am ashamed to say I am guilty as charged. 🐓 P.S. @Hoghead515 I appreciate your forthrightness, honesty, humility and uncanny ability to avoid controversy and remain on good terms with every member, across the board! We should all emulate your style.

Wow, punked by none other than the Hon. VKurtB! Better go see if MAULEMALL can use my company.

@VKurtB Maybe that newly-released U.S. Air Force 2-1/2 oz. silver medal is up your alley. Measures 2" (50.80mm) across and costs only $160.

The null [and void] go together, but a set they do not make. It is a simple concept. A single coin is just that. Now, what's that you said about genuflection? The 🐓 doesn't like to be kept waiting.

Faux silver is a poor way to pay tribute to a coin. That's why I champion the Intaglio Mint's approach to classic designs. They execute them in 2-oz .999 fine silver coins.

[Not to suggest Dr. Salk's monumental contribution to medicine wasn't worth extolling to the heavens but a commemorative dime, and not a dollar, would have been a more appropriate choice even it were unprecedented in Mint history.]

[All I know is Wesley Snipes served his three years for tax evasion in McKean, PA.]

Back on track... OK, just to sum up. Cosby is out. Joe Exotic, contrary to what many believe, will be re-adjudicated, re-sentenced and returned to custody. I think the Court's decision to reinstate "take-a-bullet-for-T" Cohen's home confinement was courageous and Sheldon Silver's release and return to custody was cruel (and I don't particularly like him for excellent reasons) which leaves us with the matter of BvH. I will have to study the case in detail but have no problem with a request for extraordinary post-conviction relief. Now, if you had made the same case for Tommy Thompson of S.S. Central America infamy, I would respectfully pass. In this regard, I believe you were right in equating, as unseemly as it sounds, gold and its pursuit, with pure evil. You remain an enduring enigma... 🐓

@VKurtB Funny how the member (who fled with his like-minded cronies elsewhere) came right out and said, "I don't like you!" and interestingly, cited the very qualities he evidently deemed to be negative which has endeared you to the members here who appreciate a "give-it-to-me-straight" approach allowing the chips to fall where they may.

@VKurtB Sometimes, not very often, a member conjures up thoughts so compelling, so thought-provoking, that it leaves one totally disarmed and unprepared for credible retort. With the exception of the comment equating gold with pure evil, I will require the balance of the year dissecting what likely is the most outrageous comment ever recorded on any forum in social media history. (Thank you, @GoldFinger1969 for accommodating my unfocused indulgences!)

What exactly are you afraid of? So now it develops you own a "graded" PROOF, and it is encapsulated. The Royal Mint's integrity has not only been questioned but dispensed with entirely. My thanks to the Great Zadok for eliciting, if true, these most tantalizing of revelations.

[My apologies to the OP but I couldn't let this pass.] "Economic morality grounds." Now if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black! "Blood diamonds" I've heard of but "blood gold"? "Bailed out" of gold 10 years ago? How has gold performed since then? No further questions.

Now here is where I agree with you wholeheartedly without reservation. The shame now is the INTAGLIO MINT has been reorganized and shifted the emphasis of their classic line of coins to Molon Labes, Zodiacs and other products that may or may not resonate with buyers. (New York City local law, as many of you know or may have heard, allows women to bare their breasts in public.) The Standing Liberty is exceptional. The rivets on the shield are clear and distinct. The unusual denticular structure is unique and without equal. I believe those who want to debate price fail to consider the thirty-seven other factors which must be considered ranging from employing Engravers, producing and maintaining dies and mint-making equipment, procuring precious metals, storing them, and all costs assumed by a small, private operation to insure all facets of the business, including packing, registering, insuring, clearing payments, shipping, tracking and responding in timely fashion to customer service inquiries is accomplished seamlessly. I have ordered from them many times without a hitch, and recommend them unreservedly. Bear in mind all the activity that must take place behind the scenes to produce that product and sell it to you at a modest profit. And, yes, they can teach the U.S. Mint a thing or two about responsiveness and quality control. Best of all, the silver products are of .999 finess, and show it. Each and every coin is a flawless gem. 🐓

The very first post on this thread. I want to seize it and declare it a Liberated Zone before the vestiges of Occupy Wall Street or the January 6th Capitol Picnic inadvertently stumble upon it and claim it as their own.

I believe a single example does not constitute a "set." What you do have are some very fine examples.

Like I said, there are two sides to every story and I haven't heard his side yet. Certainly being included amongst the 100 most influential people in Numismatics -- as polled by the very same people who felt obliged to include him, militates in his favor. Unfortunately, I haven't been on the Forum long enough to be granted exemption or immunity from criticizing other members. I don't know how many Warnings a member such as myself is permitted to accumulate before I am referred to the guillotine so in the meantime I shall try to adopt Just Bob's approach and Be Nice and suggest we all just try to get along. Besides, I have a flock of 🐓 🐓 🐓 to attend to and the Christian-Greek scriptures require that I love all others unconditionally.

The only way I am going to sleep in peace tonite is believing the response little Virginia O'Hanlon got when she wrote the New York Sun to ask whether there really was a Santa Claus and they published her letter and answered her question in an editorial. I sense you know something the rest of us do not and, accordingly, lobbing indiscriminate pejorative epithets would be unsatisfying, unproductive, possibly blasphemous bordering on the sacrilegious and ultimately un-American. There are two sides to every story and I/we haven't heard yours. 😉

No, please don't! I don't want to encourage or entice the Moderators to widen their respective spheres of influence.

JUST A HEADS UP... @GoldFinger1969 In an unusual turn of events, the President of RARCOA, Wayne Milas, found this thread only a few hours ago and decided to address, at length, some of the issues that had earlier been discussed by you and other members that it behooves you and the other members who weighed in to take a look.