Henri Charriere

Funny how no one bothered to ask the obvious question: Where did you get it from? How did this coin come to be in your possession? What representations were made to you at the time you acquired it? 🤔

Update: the Delta Variant is the predominant one now with Epsilon right around the corner. It's still a long way to Omega...

@Coinbuf Unfair! You know perfectly well the 🐓run ended in 1914.

[I have a feeling @RWB is going to have the last word on this...]

No, I am just the resident Roostermeister 🐓 🐓 🐓.

[Sidebar: I no longer remember to whom this was attributed but when President Nixon was reportedly asked his choice to become Secretary of the Interior, he supposedly responded, "Any hick'll do," and that, according to legend, was how the former governor of Alaska, Wally Hickel, became part of the Cabinet... There are two members who misspell "nickel" but to each his own, and to whom it may concern, the correct spelling is "fluorescent".]

[I apologize to any member 😔 who took my comment, made mostly in "what if" jest, and ascribed to it some semblance of legitimacy. I am familiar with the mint-mark application process -- I dislike the term "engraving" as used in this context whether valid or not -- but fail to understand why it is the USM lags so far behind in innovative technology than that of the BEP which has provided us with embedded security threads, microprinting and watermarks. 🤔 Am I to assume this carryover from Neanderthal times is superior to and more cost-efficient than the Engraver who incorporated an incised "M" for MacNeil unobtrusively onto a corner of the base of the Standing Liberty Quarter? Why aren't we incising mint marks into dies?

No, I am going to go over that by now thread-bare post with a fine-toothed comb, and report my findings, forthwith.

@Coinbuf Respectfully, I don't see any missing rivets on @AcesKings example a few posts above! Since when has "wear" become a four-letter word? The rank amateur in me is screaming AU-59+* I cannot in good conscience assign your gorgeous coin a grade that equals or exceeds the one [MS-65] awarded the 1933 SG DE whose leg injury, left untreated, developed MRSA. You understand.

[Observation: there are members I refer to as "mad scientists" in white lab coats who work tirelessly, around-the-clock to shed light on the possible causes of post-mintage damage [PMD]. There specimens are laudably of little or no value beyond face. Sometimes things go awry in which case they are honored in anonymity with a star for their contribution(s) to the hobby.]

👍 Great job! Thanks!

So much so that I automatically assumed @GoldFinger1969 was the OP. That guy slid in quietly and left quietly, only five days later. I am going to send in the forensics technicians to determine if it was something someone said or did, or whether he moved on to greener pastures of his own volition.

@Coinbuf You're kidding me! I have been strolling, surfing, trolling and lurking around conducting quality-control checks and never knew that! At the very top of my wife's bottom-of-the-line, no-frills, knock-off cell is a an unambiguous pennant that crystal clearly reads: "US, World, and Ancient Coins," directly above NGC's trademarked logo and Scales of Justice. Respectfully submitted,

To the OP: Before you run off, a question: under high magnification do you see bas-relief or alto-relievo? Low- as opposed to high-relief? If the latter, however unlikely (due to the long institutional memory of members on this site) you could theoretically claim you own a unique DDO, or "double D obverse," not to be confused with its rare stepson DDO, or "doubled-die obverse."

Fine distinction; splendid clarification. Thanks.

(Evidently, the passage of time.)

That's the $64 M question. My Cousin Vinny stated crack-outs are endemic at conventions and the standard method allegedly used nothing less than primitive.. I thought @MarkFeld would find the subject offensive so I made a discreet inquiry to @Just Bob specifically requesting the name of the specific tool used to accomplish extraction and was politely rebuffed. Nobody on the Forum is going to pay heed to speculation from a mere chiffonnier regarding the matter of before and after grading so kudos to @numisport for summoning the courage to share his observation of the obvious: what did our Scandinavian member use to accomplish the near impossible task of disassembling an encapsulation, cleanly and with no apparent damage? Enquiring minds want to know!

@Insider as I recall, indicated that the fingerprint on my [MS-66 coin, purchased thru a Florida dealer] should have been removed prior to encapsulation, and I got the overall sense that it would be done free of additional fee. I never pursued the option. Time is money and considering the ever escalating volume of submissions, I believe that courtesy was abandoned at some point.)

I am aware this thread is almost 4 years old. It just happens to epitomize the "agony of defeat." My sincerest condolences.

I am undeserving of the honor you have bestowed upon me with your meticulous research. It has answered every question I have had since our seasoned member, a/k/a Wee Niggles, made a passing reference to it in a recent discussion of regional dialects. I am much obliged.

Being woefully ignorant on matters regarding loop-holes, I am going to take an uneducated guess that the unmarked exit door to which you refer resides somewhere within the above excerpt. [If @Hoghead515 is laughing at me, he has every right to.]

@Oldhoopster It would be interesting to find out exactly when the deception was first detected and reported. I assume almost immediately prompting the design of the newer CENTS variety sometime that same year. Was there a precedent regarding problematic coinage which discouraged a recall or are such undertakings a logistical nightmare? Either way, as the then Post Office ultimately discovered, publicity would encourage retention.

Members may recall @Insider urged me to send my encapsulated 🐓 back to NGC for removal of a prominent thumbprint emblazoned across one side saying this should have been done routinely. I haven't due to an irrational belief it was left there by someone important, on the calibre of the late Albert Spaggiari who tunneled his way thru the sewers of Nice, France 🇫🇷 to loot 400 safe deposit boxes in the Société Generale bank of up to 100 million francs on Bastille Day weekend 1976 -- leaving a message spray-painted on the vault in French, reading: "without weapons, or hatred or violence." Thank you NGC for your disinclination to destroy what may very well be crime scene evidence.

My only concern is while the coin's visuals have been improved, the coin for all intents and purposes is raw, its integrity compromised and no longer certified due to decapsulation. The OP can keep it, sell it or re-submit it for recertification as a raw coin, or plead guilty with an explanation: I am the owner, this is why I removed it, here is the former slab and certification number, all I ask is that its former grade be affirmed and it be re-holdered. Our resident experts here on the Forum can assist you with the most practical, cost-effective solution considering the coin's current Fair Market Value.

I must say, for some of us older collectors from the 1960's, were it not for this post we would rarely be afforded a glimpse of these treasures unspooling from the comfort of our own homes. Kudos to the OP for his inestimably valuable thread and creative vision. 😉