Henri Charriere

On 12/9/2020 at 12:12 AM, Hoghead515 said:

I wish I had that kind of money to spend on a coin. That be awsome. Ive never made an 1/16 or less of that in my whole life working like a mule doing back breaking work. Im gonna have to try to figure out what they're secret is. What im doing now sure ain't working out. One of these days when I dig up that barrel of gold old dad here gonna get in on some them good ones to. Or line them lottery numbers up right. Cant seem to never line them up. 

[Aside:  You probably remember the story of Andrew "Jack" Whittaker, Jr., already a self-made millionaire who won the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history back in 2002. Powerball $315 million; he opted for a direct payout of over $100 million. He passed away at 72 just this past summer at home in West Virginia.  If you don't, you may want to Google him and read the write-ups under Wikipedia and his N.Y. Times obit. A cautionary tale that will have you saying, "Well, that would never happen to me!"  

On 7/4/2020 at 10:47 PM, RWB said:

They haven't been submitted enough times -- yet.

As you may have occasion to recall your reply was the first posted to the only question I have ever submitted to the Forum since becoming a member and is as true today as the day it was written.  The run-up in gold prices loosened a veritable hoard of gold roosters, most submitted to PCGS (as evidenced by their sequential certification numbers) and I was fortunate enough to snag two.  Overall, however, your observation rings true.  The acceptance of Sheldonization continues incrementally in Europe and I keep monitoring the more reliable sources.

Trials of the "crypt."  

On 12/4/2020 at 6:23 AM, ldhair said:

Nice even wear. No drama or trauma.  Gotta give credit where credit is due.

You are, by any measure a lucky man.  You were given an unprecedented opportunity to vent your frustration and valve off some pressure, command a wide audience here, put in some dazzling footwork and still emerge unscathed.  Unfortunately, for those demanding proof of this or that, I wish them luck.  There are opinions and there are immutable facts.  Maybe one day they will solve the riddle of those '33 double-eagles; maybe they won't. It's all relative and at best interesting.  Nothing to lose sleep over.

[Well, I for one thoroughly enjoyed this friendly, good-natured banter. What I have never been able to figure out is why some members allow themselves to become so heavily invested in the outcome with one or two suggesting the OP, who just got here, leave the premises immediately and the thread left behind be in incinerated forthwith.  It's too bad VKurtB chose to take a powder when he did.  He missed something truly invigorating. Kudos to all the contenders! 

[Well, as Alice observed, things here have gotten "curiouser and curiouser." I've always liked happy endings.  Thanks to all!  Now I can go to bed.]

[Would it be fair to say that the production of similar such scarcity of supply vs. unpredictable demand scenarios lay at the genesis of the advent of tokens circulating in rural communities much like those posted regularly on Just Bob's Tokens Tuesdays thread?]

[Postscript on my revisit as regarding the '78-CC... Maybe I haven't scoured the extensive listings and accompanying photos sufficiently enough but I do not recall seeing or recall anyone mentioning two features which struck me as being odd:  the lands and grooves on the ends of the arrows and the arrowheads themselves which resemble those coarsely chiseled ones commonly associated with native Americans.]

18 minutes ago, MarkFeld said:

Don’t be so harsh. Obviously, the tax preparer should have known before spending any time doing any work, that the fees would be greater than the tax bill. Likewise, a grading company should know before grading the coins, that the value doesn’t merit the cost of grading. The tax documents, coins and payments should have simply been returned to the customers before any work was done. 😉

E X A C T L Y .

Attn:  NevadaS&G, and the NGC congregation at large...

My wife and I as most of you know subsist at exactly one-half the poverty line as established by the Federal Government.

Last year, we went and had our taxes done. When all was said and done, we were handed a form stating, in pertinent part:  "You will receive a refund of $143.00."

On a separate form, entitled: "How we minimized what you owe" was a line that read, "Tax Preparation":  $188.00; "Other fees":  $50.00; and "Total":  $238.00.

How would you feel paying a tax preparer $238.00 in order to receive a $143.00 refund?  You know what I told my wife? We will save a lot of money next year if we just don't file our taxes at all.

I think what you would have appreciated more than anything else would be to have someone refund your money at the outset as soon as it became abundantly clear there was no way to grant your request in a cost-effective manner.  I believe ethical considerations have gone by the wayside in recent years.

3 hours ago, MAULEMALL said:

Blah Blah Blah.. .. Your Bloviating is tiresome.. Some would say mundane...

 blowing smoke up peoples arses is your thing not mine...

Again.. Get a room..

It is always a pleasure hearing from you and knowing whatever crosses my mind is important enough to merit your time, attention and kind consideration.

1 hour ago, bsshog40 said:

One of the reasons I blocked this guy not long after he joined. He likes to type a lot of words that in the end don't amount to anything!

Question:   Is there any greater compliment than being told repeatedly, Do not feed the Trolls!; taking that advice to heart, taking the additional step of employing the blocking mechanism, roundly denouncing the subject in a superfluous post, and then responding to a reference made to the troll as deduced from a denunciation obliquely made by a third party?

41 minutes ago, MAULEMALL said:

What did he hope to accomplish by bringing it here?

Affirmation. Identification. Validation.  If you are relatively new here (and even I am new here, too) you have to spend some time getting to know who your audience is.  If this very same topic, phrased as an ultimatum, were posted by one of our movers and shakers, veritable rainmakers occupying corner offices, it would elicit an entirely different response. Our ears would perk up. There are members here whose credentials are so above reproach we would instantly give them the benefit of the doubt.  But when you are new and have yet to establish your position and reputation along the pecking order, you must substantiate your allegations. What we are left with is a lot of conjecture and while I would not characterize the OP's goods as "mundane," the fact is all still maintain varying states of the generally coveted Mint State status. I believe I would have asked for a review first before presenting my case here before the court of public opinion without evidence.

9 hours ago, Hoghead515 said:

I agree. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if they done away with the cent. They are a pain to roll up and would be easier to just round up to the nearest 5 cent. 

[I predict with the massive cutbacks being proposed and accompanying price increases caused by the pandemic, all this talk about rounding up and down as regarding the penny will become a quaint academic  notion.]

4 hours ago, MAULEMALL said:

Two scratches under the eye to many frostbreaks and a chunky wheel dig on the cap.. It's a slider 64

The reverse is ok except the typical chicken breast that the 21 is so famous for..

It's really a drab Black eyed 21 Morgan..

 

In the old days I believe all of the quite vocal OP's coins would have been decreed Uncirculated examples and wielding a hammer never would have occurred to him.  (Mark Feld correctly pointed out that political references on this Forum are verboten, but if Biden is stricken in office, President Harris, like it or not, will assume office.)

40 minutes ago, Modwriter said:

I hit a hard spot in late October. Totally unprepared. I thought well I got my collection. Wrong. The 5 D's for selling a collection DEATH, DEBT, DISEASE, DIVORCE, DISABILITY. I got hit hard by debt and divorce. It takes a long time to liquidate a collection than I thought....

Sorry to hear that.  Places like Pawn Stars make out just fine because they are located in places where time is at a premium when you're out gambling and lose your shirt.  I hope you make a spectacular comeback in 2021.  My best to you!

8 hours ago, Zebo said:

1) do you strive to have the highest quality collection possible, or do you try to fill all of the holes with acceptable but not necessarily the best coins in order to complete your collection?

2) if a coin drops in the ...

3) would rather have a coin that tells an interesting story or one that has a high market value?

4) are you more of an investor or a collector? 

5) if you could only buy/have one coin - what would it be and why? (Not looking for uber high value coins - but artistic design or one that has a significant story).

[Hmm, why do I feel I know Goldfinger1969's answer to question (5)?]

3 hours ago, ronnie stein said:

Either I am seeing double -- or the camera moved.  Time to get an update on my cataracts. 😉  Nice catch, Ronnie!

43 minutes ago, MAULEMALL said:

Quintus is befuddling today

Not really.  Modwriter has a total of 20 coins, only three of which are headed for the auction block.  A complete collection does not necessarily qualify as a Great Collection.  I don't know what specific coins Modwriter has collected or whether they reside in a Set Registry but he is apparently honest and humble enough to suggest he instinctively knows what he's got, if complete, does not constitute greatness. What would make it Great?  Only he knows for sure.  I wish him the best on his lots.  It is never easy to let a collection laboriously compiled over time go -- and many members never do -- but it is an eventuality we all acknowledge and face, one way or the other.

On 12/11/2020 at 12:05 AM, Modwriter said:

This forum has censorship. 

True, but my Number One follower is also my Number One ignorer, as of necessity. (Considering the inordinate amount of time she is forced to spend poring over my comments with a fine-toothed comb, I am surprised no one higher up hasn't broached the subject of charging me pro-rata for her time).

Uncertainty goes with the territory.  The OP is highly upset.  Ironically, had I received a 65, or greater on either of two coins I have, I would be ecstatic. To date, no 1901 or 1902 French 20-franc gold rooster has ever been graded MS 65, or higher, out of a mintage of some 5,000,000 coins. And should such examples surface, depending on prevailing demand their FMV will be skewed by collectors like me who insist on having the best, price being no object.  I wish the OP the very best and want to assure him we have all experienced setbacks at one time or another.

11 hours ago, Modwriter said:

The old Modwriter in me wants to say something to the OP,  but alas, the new Modwriter isnt in the mood, except to say the OP needs to move on and keep hunting for that elusive MS70. Anybody know who the new Secretary of the Treasury will be? Will we be saying goodbye to the cent and nickel?

No one will know who the new Treasury Sec'y will be until his appointment.  (I don't care for the present one and care less for his primary donna wife.)  The cent serves no useful purpose.  Worse, it's not even real; it is an embarrassment. The nickel is okay. For now. At some point, I hope the whole shebang is revamped and a fitting tribute is created for observance of the country's sestercentennial in 2026.

3 hours ago, rocket23 said:

Ahh the three they actually accepted. What about the rest?

This, in a nutshell, is why I have refrained from getting involved in these auctions. A quick look at prior sessions should let you know where you stand and what your chances are, taking into consideration prevailing sentiment and the situation in the marketplace, as to whether you will succeed as well as you feel you should.  I am no expert, but I do know speaking strictly for myself, the difference between a complete collection -- and one that exudes greatness, and mine still has a ways to go.  I wish you the best of luck on the lots GC has accepted.