Henri Charriere

[No offense to the OP but if you were to spend enough time on these chat boards you would find that lots and lots of DDO's turn out to be dodos. I believe only a small percentage of prospectors struck it rich during the Gold Rush. In fact, it was said the people who sold provisions to the hordes descending on California (abandoning entire ships in the Bay en masse in the process) were the ones who made out like bandits. It comes with the territory. I think one of the saddest stories in numismatic history was the reply that young boy received from the Mint director inquiring as to whether his 1943 copper penny was real and being told none were authorized, dashing his hopes. You win some, you lose some. Here's hoping you will maintain your buoyant spirit and prevail someday.]

[Kind of ironic to think that the roosters I bought raw not two years ago are now well above melt. Encapsulated or not, the least we can do is educate ourselves, avoid vultures and try to be the responsible stewards we should be.]

[There is a formal name for that but crackheads called it "tweaking."] 😂

[Ah, yes. The D-Day "Wink-Linc." All it needs now is an official variety attribution designation and an interesting back-story. 😉]

It looks like a two with latent now blatant four-ish tendencies. 😉

[I like my explanation better. Three (3) moderators were assigned to monitor Quintus Arrius' threads around-the-clock in rotating tours to the detriment of the operation. That and the pandemic affected everything from routine customer service to turnaround times. Then Q.A. renewed his membership and cleaned up his act.]

I know this may seem absolutely incredible but what happened here is obvious. Someone was led terribly astray and mutilated a perfectly good 1943 copper cent in the mistaken belief it was the 1942 that was more valuable. And the evidence is there for all to see. An amateurish attempt to all but obliterate the trademark tail-flourish of that fabled 3. That's all there is to it.

Thirty hours later, and still no clarification... why? A Lincoln cent, date still unknown because the obverse hasn't been declassified yet. An old damaged coin holder. An "O-ring" of the type our own Hoghead made reference to elsewhere recently. Fiber evidence... And the most tantalizing clue of all: Alex of PA's emoji declaring, "They know..........." I am going to sit and wait.

[Wait! Wait! What about me? I wasn't aware any of this was even going on! I never had a chance to get my two cents in! And now, all the ruffled feathers have been smoothed out and I am constrained to mind my mannerz with Nannerz. Oh well, we all love happy endings!]

And a valid one at that. I was drawn to the facial bruising and extraterrestrial rim dinging (notably absent from the bottom mugshot but getting progressively worse as you work your way up) that I am obliged to withdraw my wisecrack... In light of Lem E's astute observation and disciplined disclosure, the jury is directed to disregard the remark(s) of the witness [Q.A.] in their entirety.

[One take-away from this "example"-- some SIX PAGES long (with God knows how many attributions, with sub-sections, yet!) -- is rank amateurs like me, with no real knowledge of the specific subject matter under discussion, ought to refrain from commenting, i.e., keep our big mouths shut before we make a laughing-stock of ourselves, if we haven't done so already. A most self-illuminating reference if ever there was one.]

As long as the OP understands and accepts "opinions" rendered by various numismatic authorities -- more particularly on the highest grades, we are all on the same page. This should pose no problem on common, circulated coinage irrespective of country of origin.

[In the humor department, dry or otherwise, you are unquestionably without peer.]😉

Apparently not. If there were, we wouldn't have half a dozen TPGS, offering disparate opinions, in just the United States alone.

[Normal wear and tear and mischievous havoc wreaked surreptiously by a someone using the initials PMD.]

I was raised on the Red Book and am familiar generally with United States coins. Recently, I began a collection of a specific line of French coins -- which came along with their own special catalog, roughly translated as, Table of conversion states corresponding to grading standards (used by six different countries: France, USA, England, Germany, Italy and Spain) covering a range of grades. I would imagine Canada has it's own version -- and none are applicable to ancient coins which are graded according to their own scales. I am certain if you are patient, someone reading your query will be happy to direct you to the post that will provide you with the helpful answers you seek.

[Quite frankly, our Alex of PA. could have answered the OP's question: Is this a recognized variant or is it just a normal error that is ignored? with just that emoji slapping his forehead.]

Where there is no "make offer" provision or on-going bidding with a "or buy now for [price]" or where response has been tepid, I press Contact the Seller tab and state directly (but humbly) "Gentlemen, If you can see your way clear to release this coin, etc. for [state your price] I will pay immediately." A novice, or private individual will very often want to dispose of his goods without further delay. A large firm with a solid reputation may agree to a five-to-ten percent reduction. The very worst that can happen is you will get a lovely response stating price, particularly on bullion, is not subject to discount and represents "what we believe to be is it's fair market value." It never hurts to try.

Now for the question Rick of Pawn Stars asks after David Vagi, the Director of Ancients at NGC, examines a prospective customer's coin with a loupe, and states his expert, professional opinion: "How much is it worth?"

[To the OP: Why the fixation on 1930, twice cited by you (in the title of this post and again in this column)? The numerals on your coin are beyond extraordinary: an authentic 1, an 8 with a stylistic flourish, a 3 with rounded ends, and best of all, the over-sized 0 -- all raised, all with beveled edges! Aside from the "cigarette burn" i/f/o the bust, is it safe to assume this coin cannot be graded? How does the reverse look? This coin really has a lot going for it. I like it. I take it you were taken by its various strong attributes too.]

Literally shooting stars. First time I've ever heard of, or seen, one. Interesting!

😂 = I approve, whole-heartedly. Many thanks!

Ah, finally a question I can answer! Revolutions per minute, or (rpm). . . Oops! Wrong thread. Seriously, a preliminary review of the subject re-punched mint mark (rpm) and its cousin over mint mark (omm) are reviewed and discussed at length on Google with entire chat boards and web sites devoted to the subject, so much so, I cannot hazard a guess as to what it is exactly you have. I can tell you that at least one member here will suggest better overall photos of the coin -- and sharper images. Good luck!

Meanness, age, dishonesty, bad faith? At the outset, with the exception of age, I believe most members will agree that the descriptors used by the OP as applied to numismatics, is refreshingly different from the terms ordinarily used by U.S. collectors. While I agree with member Coinbuf's comments, I should like to emphasize the search for truth is never-ending. The OP has raised an interesting point which deserves amplification. As most of us know, with DNA, we can determine with some specificity what part of the world our ancestry came from. We can generally state whether a human skeleton is that of male or female, race, age - even how well-nourished. Just as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) can determine the country of origin of a drug (and growing region) it can also determine purity and diluent used. Metals present their own properties. Gold from the Canada's Yukon differs from that of California; silver from the Comstock lode differs from that of Peru. (With the discovery of the shipwreck S.S. Central America, we were able to recover not only coinage but "Gold Rush" gold in its raw, unrefined form which, under analysis, reveals it's own unique signature.) While I can understand the "much ado about nothing" attitude of members regarding the sophisticated (and likely costly) spectral analysis of a mere penny, the problem with metals is complicated by constant cycling and recycling. Gold and silver ores are extracted, refined, melted, alloyed, re-melted, re-issued, minted, melted again into bars and re-minted or re-purposed for other uses such as jewelry and industry. I would imagine copper presents its own problems. For that reason I feel determining age with some degree of specificity, particularly as it relates to coinage and date of mintage, is beyond present technological capability. [My sincere apologies to MAULEMALL, members who dislike long commentary -- and the moderator tasked with monitoring my every keystroke]

This is true but would not such "restoration," which always leaves a cloudy residue, affect the marketability of the coin? I believe most collectors consider this a last resort measure employed solely to satisfy their curiosity.