Henri Charriere

[Couldn't be "Flight 19." That was five planes back in '45. You certainly have a delicious sense of humor!]

Well, you certainly kept your promise: this got very interesting. But if it's any consolation, I bought a [redacted in case VKurtB is watching] in late November with a request to have it forwarded to be cross-graded and, quite frankly, do not expect to see it until February 2021. What with the pandemic raging, an understaffed USPS overwhelmed and backed up, TPGS practicing safe processing understandably resulting in turnaround delays, we just have to be more accommodating. I am happy things turned out well for you.

[Pardon me, Professor, but unless I was inattentive and missed it, I should like hear the results of that teleconference w/USSS as referenced in your opening lines...]

Note to the Congregation I just thought I would confirm something most members may be blissfully unaware of: that in random test-drives taken through the various threads recently, I can certify with complete confidence that the enhanced anti-trolling software feature(s) as implemented, function with breathtaking perfection and efficiency. I am beginning to suspect this firewall, impervious to breach as it were, has no back-door, no by-pass pass-word and no over-ride features. This is my own provisional assessment; other members' experiences, may differ from my own. [Mother of mercy, is this the end of ... ? Will there come a time when members cannot recall a time Before Be Nice or Be Gone?]

Very, very nice!

Great stuff! Thanks.

[When Russia was Russia and ruled by Tsars. Look at the detail! I wonder how long those dies lasted.]

[Only the initiated can appreciate the significance of the hiding in plain sight dynamic of this thread.]

Fanciest denticles I have ever seen on any coin anywhere. Nice catch!

Respectfully, by whom, and when? That term was not in use then and seems to have been conjured up in the 1980's. The correct term is what it has always been: a circulation strike.

There it is. (I was already thinking proper burial but that is no way to greet a guest looking for some honest answers.)

Submitted for your approval, as Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) would say... For one year only, 2026, the country's sestercentennial, re-visiting some of the classic designs of the past: a Flying Eagle or Indian Head cent, a Liberty Head nickel, a Liberty Seated dime, .... a Gobrecht dollar (w/stars) and the Educational Series and the Watermelon for currency. Pondering whether the Mint should eliminate certain designs ought to stimulate discussion about possible suitable replacements or substitutes. A shot in the arm, now and again, is what this hobby needs. I mean, if the USPS revived, if ever so briefly, the triangular Clipper ship and Inverted Jenny stamps, coinage too can emerge from the doldrums with an exquisite sampling of the country's finest productions...

I am torn between malignant tertian malaria, the estivo-autumnal variety, due to plasmodium falciparum or plain chickenpox, but I don't want to get mauled so, yeah, red freckles... and very Christmassy, too! 😉

[At last count, 235 posts spread over 8 pages in just the last two weeks... It's a long story and I don't blame Alex for not replying. Some things are just better left unsaid.]

I stand corrected. 😉

[Jimmy Kimmel: Okay. You've used your 50-50 and Ask the Audience options. That leaves you with Call a Friend... (Ringing of phone heard) Marisa Tomei: Hello? Joe Pesci: Yeah, it's me. Now listen... You subscribe to a service for one year that comes with a free club membership and eight grading vouchers. You join on Feb. 14, 2019. When do any unused credits expire? Twelve seconds left! Marisa Tomei: Dat's E-zee! Feb-you-erry 13, 2020. Joe Pesci: But you don't renew your membership! You unsubscribe in De-cem-buh 2019! Marisa Tomei: Duzz-int mat-ta. One's got nuth-in-nuh do wid da ot-thu! A ye-uh izza ye-uh! Joe Pesci: Are you suuure? Marisa Tomei: Yeah, I'm suuure! (Buzzer heard sounding) Joe Pesci: Thanks, babe. Gotta go! ... THE UNUSED COIN CLUB VOUCHERS EXPIRE WHEN YOUR MEMBERSHIP EXPIRES REGARDLESS OF RENEWAL. Jimmy Kimmel: CONGRATULATIONS! You are America's Newest Millionaire!]

Business ethics... interesting! We tend to repress unpleasant experiences so I had completely forgotten why I somewhat inaccurately claimed I had allowed my membership at PCGS to "lapse." That is, until a few hours ago when, as a participating set registrant, I was invited to take a brief survey, which went on and on, and got increasingly personal to where I declined to answer certain questions, hit Submit, whereupon I was informed I had made an error, which I had no choice but to investigate only to find an Ultimatum! Essentially, an answer to this question is required. Required? I am not a soldier in your army! What happened to "voluntary"? So, you see Prof. Hill, I did what anyone somewhat in possession of their full faculties would have done: I backed out, and then the flood of memories came back to me triggered by that unconditional demand. (Do you remember that Abbott & Costello episode where Lou utters, Niagara, and Mr. Fields goes berserk? "Slow-ly I turned. Step-by-step..") The first turn-off, if you will, is what Coinbuf politely refers to as enrollment... with strings attached. Irreconcilable differences? Too bad. Your membership cannot lapse. Unsubscribing is a manual process. And after a few more slights -- my unused grading credits suddenly evaporating, I had had enough. I disengaged and left. Collectors Club... like when you shop for upgrades, find none, or wares that are beneath your grade all the while being told "we are doing everything we can to find..." No, you're not! Who needs that? The Set Registry is a parallel universe. Get a load of this: How to improve your overall set rating: Why, start a U.S. coin set. "Everyone's doing it." You kidding me? Business ethics? Ha! Someone, apparently objecting to my presence here, very forwardly asked, You got a set over there, so why are you over here? Truth be told, the threads over there are constricting. It's almost like being in a surgical suite and being instructed to produce specific instruments to perform specific tasks. It felt suffocating. Here, I feel welcomed. Like I matter. Even my enemies cannot seem to get enough of me! I cannot imagine life without the likes of such disparate and intriguing personalities such as you, the ever gentlemanly Just Bob, the raucous newcomer NevadaS&G, the overwhelming MAULEMALL, the cantankerous VKurtB, the scholarly and dry-humored RWB (that someone even created an avatar for! Alex from PA?) Goldfinger1969, a host of ignorers who occasionally slip up and acknowledge my presence, and the ever-present Chilean secret police, DINA, who administer everything from wrist-slaps to banishment to Bogeyland. Business ethics? Well, there is the right way and the wrong way and then there's PCGS' way. I may own a nice set of Roosters but nobody gets to own me. And if push were to come to shove, there is always the welcoming arms of the folks in sunny Sarasota!

[The -, is a hyphen. And the #, commonly referred to as a hashtag (God only knows where that came from) is an octothorpe. Great stuff! Carry on...]

Same here. (And it's not even mine. It's my wife's. My phone doesn't even have the internet. It's an original, so-called "Obama-phone." I was told if it's lost, stolen or damaged, it won't be replaced. It's obsolete.)

[Still have a ways to go but initial results re vaccinations vs. placebos appear promising. However, a substantial % of the population has indicated they will pass on inoculations -- and whether you choose to be vaccinated, or not, you will still have to wear your mask. To answer Insider's question... the Superintendent of my seniors housing development confirmed quietly that residents have left never to return but the matter is never addressed publicly for fear of raising the alarm.]

[True, but a sinister aspect has quietly crept in... the unpublicized loss of a poster's running post totals.]

[With apologies to the OP, Turko, I should like to amplify what ought to be self-evident by suggesting the phenomenon of snuggling occurs most frequently during the act of smuggling which is how the ten 1933 Double Eagles were able to successfully effect their escape from the Philadelphia Mint, en masse, otherwise known as the "one-shot" deal. 😉]

[Note to any Young Numismatist within the sound of my voice: Welcome to the Forum! And No, this is NOT the proper way to handle a coin. Any coin. Shame on a fellow member for setting a bad example i/f/o impressionable youth.]

[I don't truly believe the gentleman cancelled his account. He let his lapse. Like me.]

(Subliminally sublime.)