Henri Charriere

Devil's advocate here... Okay, you've got a genuine '43. Now that you've got it -- and 99.44% of all viewers here agree -- what are you going to do with it? The only thing you have not done, but can do: submit it for authentication.

True, but wouldn't they be expected to degrade over time? O rings... hmmm, now where have we all heard about them before?

[I am beginning to feel that with all this renewed interest, this is one cold case that is beginning to heat up...]

The latent print on one of my Roosters is clear enough to submit to the FBI for identification but I keep thinking if I did that they would tell me it belongs to an employee of a TPGS, and then how would that make me feel? My understanding is graders do not wear gloves -- not even paper ones.

I would not even know what the available remedy was for such a serious injury way back then. Matter of fact, I wouldn't know how to treat a massive wound caused by acid today.

Absolutely stunning! I love that hexagonal look.

Insider, undoubtedly, would beg to differ but, nevertheless, that is why we have medical examiners, coroners and pathologists conduct autopsies to determine a cause of death. And if the finding is inconclusive, so be it. Just another in a long list of unsolved mysteries and cold cases stretching back to western Anatolia in ancient times.

This is an example of an atrocious assault on an inanimate object. The high points bore the brunt of the abrasions and lacerations which only a accentuated what was already there: a high concentration of copper. If this were cleaned, the pits and bullet pings would not be black. Incidentally, what would be the point of cleaning a coin that appears to have survived the WWII bombings of Dresden? I challenge any expert lurking about this Forum to say otherwise!

Just had a talk with my better half who asked me what was so funny that had me laughing uproariously and she ordered me to apologize to you immediately. Kindlyspeaker, you've caught me in a good mood and made my night. Therefore, I apologize and, if amenable to the suggestion, made here publicly, that I am prepared to make up for your loss, one mangled "road kill" as one member put it, and offer you one of my many unremarkable 1972 Kennedy halves and/or an "Ike" one of 110 I had gotten from a local bank on New York City's upper East Side, all curiously bicentennial issues I theorize were squirreled away years ago by a speculator who finally gave up his "investment." If you tap on my user name, my profile will materialize (the 3 Warnings are difficult to overlook) and somewhere you will find an envelope tab with which, should you accept my offer, email me a name and address to which I can send you these items free of charge.

Welcome to the Forum K! You are being far too kind to Kindlyspeaker, a member who could not wait to jump into the arena less than twenty-four hours after joining. [Heads-up to Ratzie33: you've got some potentially serious competition!]

Cleaned? Using what? No offense to the OP, but the moment I laid eyes on that thing the first thought that popped into my head was that quote, often misquoted, attributed to Hermann Goering: "When I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun." (actually, ...unholster or unsnap the release on my gun." There really is not much more to say.

I believe red tape was used to seal vaults after their contents were verified by two or more employees, right? I believe it was also used during the tour of select Ft. Knox vaults by members of Congress and authorized officials.

Pardon me, gentleman, but I have re-read this entire thread three times and nowhere have I seen a definitive correlation between grading and acceptance to a Set Registry. And exactly how do Set Registries accommodate coins that are accompanied by Certificates of Authenticity?

[Pardon my intrusion, Nineoneo... Attention: VKurtB, do you really expect me to believe professional graders on those assembly lines would have been able to draw a bead on this with five- and seven power toy lenses in the face of the immutable evidence heretofore presented? Would this gentleman have been able to present his case to us with anything less than the magnificent photo displayed hereinabove? No further questions. To the OP, Nineoneo... the only way I can address your concerns is to put myself in your place. While being transparent is the best approach, the market for over-sized coinage is fickle, particularly where a proof is involved. It would not hurt to make preliminary inquiries with various dealers and auction houses bolstering your query with a copy of that crime scene-quality image.

And here is the smug face of the know-it-all, Q.A., who up until now thought there was nothing more he could learn about a common cent that's been around longer than any of us have been alive. Thanks for the enlightening post!

😉

I would caution my brethren to resist the urge to rush to judgment. As we all know, Ratzie33 has traditionally been the last word on all manner of creativity particularly in the field of numismatics. To be fair, any discussion of experimentation and toning should also be brought to the attention of VKurtB as a matter of professional courtesy. 😉

Thank you, sir! Not just anyone can weave their way through a morass of loose threads and produce a finished product. As always, you're on point. 😉

Chiffonnier (ret'd)

Well, it's been over three years now. The distinctive odor is gone now -- and so are my migraines. Thanks for the feedback!

There ought to be a world of a difference between an 1874 $3 AU-53 PL, and one that has been adjudged and decreed to be an MS-61 PL. While I can't put a finger on it, I am unable to dispense with the comment made by Lancek or the contribution made by RWB. I am not at all concerned with the dots under the acorn as noted by ronnie stein, particularly when confronted, as here, with the difficult-to-overlook abrasion on the obverse bottom which suggests glacial moraine that has critically injured the last A in AMERICA. But the MS-61 PL presents its own problems, mainly exterior rubbing which probably left the grader with no choice but to assign the coin a grade on the lower spectrum of the Mint State continuum. Would I cross-grade? No. I am an accumulator who tires very quickly of having to defend a coin from constant praise "but for that problem." (choose one, or more.) I would sell it, as is, and take whatever loss that entails. This is a lovely coin but it isn't the only pebble on the beach. To quote my state motto: Excelsior (Ever Upward). Use whatever money you garner from this sale and use it to pursue a coin that can speak for itself and stand on its own feet.

What about the formaldehyde manufacturers inform you about in small print with stickers attached to wood file cabinets and bookcases? The ubiquitous California Prop[osition] 65 Warning, too, is hardly encouraging: lt reads: "This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm." Of course, you only learn about all this after you've purchased the product and examined the warranties, restrictions and disclaimers of responsibility which accompany it. If simple, largely stationary, furniture items have the potential to do that to your body, what can the emission of gases do to the raw and encapsulated coins contained within them?

Just realized this thread is going on ten (10) years old! In any event, here's my contribution: it is the TPGS' grading rooms that are hermetically sealed not the encapsulated products.

Lovely... proof-like, too!

The Good News is I have been corrected by both the OP and NGC's DWLange and am totally embarrassed. The Bad News is I continue to confirm my rank amateur status regarding anomalies relative to coins I know nothing about. I thank God VKurtB, MAULEMAUL and my army of ignorers who were not around to witness the agony of my defeat. Coinbuf? Sorry, false alarm. At the risk of reinforcing my rank amateur status are you suggesting a feature that has been a standard accessory on every Lincoln from 1918 to date was arbitrarily filled in on some dies and, if so, to what purpose? This is a veritable slap in the face to Victor David Brenner and his progeny. I want a second opinion! Where's Coinbuf???