Henri Charriere

To all the professional numismatic experts out there with over 150 aggregate years of experience: Guess the grade assigned by PCGS to this 1909 French 20-franc gold rooster I paid a ransom to have brought to the United States.

Thank you sincerely, Lancek, for your Public Service Announcement. It seems like I am being bombarded by those who've expressed an interest in moving my collection, including GC. When I was much younger, I was only interested in filling the holes. Now that I am much older, I've set my sights much higher and though my collection is complete, I won't feel comfortable letting it go until it is as close to perfection as possible. I think a number of us feel the same way.

Simple punching malfunction. For a cleaner line, squeeze the feeder directly onto the cardboard -- then punch.

The thrill of victory... part 1. I purchased a 20-euro banknote (for 28 and change) threw it in an envelope and mailed it directly from Grand Central's adjoining post office. Not 24 hours later, a 1908 MS 67 French 20-franc gold rooster arrived, professionally packaged, with an invoice which indicated, based on my prior satisfactory buying experience, some fancy footwork was engaged in to justify the shortage (13.45 euros) they termed a "global discount." I placed it in my Set Registry ATS and my overall standing, now 65.688, was increased by a whopping 0.093, within hours. My intention is to compile the finest possible set rating which currently stands at 67.219. Yes, even if doing so reduces me at [damned near] 70 years old to scavenging for bottles and cans in the street. Stay tuned for part 2 which involves a similar purchase from a reputable dealer in California and a request to have it cross-graded. Hopefully, with the sluggish way things are moving, I will get a sneak preview on the verdict sometime early next year.

Seems like the pandemic has inspired its own pandemonium. The U.S. Mint, the various TPGS and on-time performance has been altered to such a degree that when outfits like FedEx which formerly used to brag, "when you absolutely, positively must have something," no longer do so. I recently got three different text messages from DHL advising a package I was expecting would be delivered late in the day, Wedneday, 1/9, Thursday, 1/10 and Friday, 1/11. (It arrived on my doorstep early yesterday afternoon.) The only guarantee is, there is none. When you're dealing with the Federal Government, you're in good hands -- but anything goes. Just be patient. After all, they've got to rely on the USPS, and that's a whole other spectacle.

Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. When Judy in her very first post feels confident enough to say her dime is "identical" to that of the OP's, I have two crucial questions: in what way? And does it include the off-color staining "WonderCoin" referred to as a "diagnostic marker"? I would not expect Judy to understand any of this -- and I am impressed she went through the entire thread suggesting she feels she is on to something (not to mention the promise of Ratzie33's possible vindication) but I would still like to know the particular distinguishing characteristic she observed which led her to believe her dime is more than just similar to Ratzie33's.

Superlative beyond words! And yet, there are some, among them -- our much beloved VKurt "embrace the change" B, who has publicly declared he has never, and will never buy a coin, sight unseen, and not in his hand (and does not see the utility of a Set Registry citing non-strategic competition.) What more would one need to know beyond what's been presented here? Just minutes ago, I received from DHL a coin I never laid eyes upon from an overseas location, an 1908 MS 67 French 20-franc gold rooster which I expect to supersede the MS 66+ now lying in my Set Registy ATS -- at a cost differential of $300. All I knew is what I had seen in pixilated form. I am not at all ashamed to say I would not hesitate to purchase a coin, sight unseen, from someone I do not know and never met. Nice catch, robec1347! You've got Coinbuf droolin' and that speaks volumes. (He won't refute this because he's got me on Ignore.)

Great piece with fine dentil insurance and an iridescent glow to die for! (First evidence I've seen that submissions have exceeded the 50-million marker). Lovely copper!

"My broker is E.F. Hutton. And when E.F. Hutton talks, people listen." Anyone old enough to remember that? 😉

If "Virginia is for Lovers," is the way you've described it, where does that leave me, a lifelong denizen of the Empire State and a resident of El Barrio a/k/a Spanish Harlem, and all that that entails, including but not limited to drug sales and use, urination, drinking, petty thieves selling stolen goods and muggers all conducting their trades openly, publicly and shamelessly. And let's not forget, I pay for the privilege of living (surviving) here? 😉

Two take-aways from all this: it's still alright to be partial to so-called "blast whites" but it has never occurred to me to carry around a magnet. Copper scrap dealers use them routinely to separate the chaff from the wheat. Some of the more powerful, portable ones can fit in your back pocket may be had free by simply cannibalizing stereo speakers discarded on the street. Very useful thread.

[I cannot help but feel, sir, that you have more than earned your honorific. It is always a pleasure to watch you weigh in on somewhat sensitive matters with discretion.]

Well, to quote actress Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny," your half's a splendid example of "dead balls on accuracy" (which she assured Joe Pesci was a standard term used in the automotive industry). Take a look at those strongly struck reeded edges! That's quite a fine Benjie you've got there. I'm impressed.

[Is there no one here, or any other thread, willing to stick his neck out and say disinterment from a slab, coffin, or whatever you wish to call it is a sacrilege and an abomination unworthy of the ideals upon which this hobby was founded? I have only been here a few months and it has begun to seem a number of members regard this vandalism as normal human behavior. It isn't, and I for one, refuse to accept it. If you disagree with the opinion rendered by a TPGS, there are procedures in place for having your disagreement reviewed and otherwise addressed. I don't know what I find worse: discovering activity which reflects adversely on the hobby actually exists, or finding those the numismatic community universally holds in high regard tacitly approving of this disgraceful and disrespectful approach to problem-solving with their deafening silence.]

[With kbbpll's indulgence, who may or may not have permanently ensconced me on his "pay him no mind list," a/k/a ignore, I should like to offer the following startling update on what he refers to as my "precious niche." It seems, based solely on my own observations as undertaken during my regular monthly population censuses that sometime within the past two months, a sizeable dump of French 20-franc gold roosters, many in various grades of mint state condition submitted mostly in high grades primarily to PCGS' European outposts. In addition, possibly with the recent run-up in gold prices, those graded MS67 which were nowhere to be found anywhere, suddenly inundated the market from all quarters. This gave me an opportunity to do something VKurtB, our much esteemed seasoned veteran, likely in transit, swore to the heavens he has never done and never will do: buy a coin sight unseen, out of hand. I just purchased two -- sight unseen -- and it remains to be seen if I will ever get them. I used a bank wire transfer on one (because I refuse to generate income for PayPal's "overseers" with whom I have had two fruitless "discussions previously, and USPS money orders on the other though they do not list it on their site as an approved form of payment. With Roosters, you must expect the unexpected. Sometime soon, I expect to learn the thrill of victory... or the agony of defeat. The more interesting facet of this venture is my Set Registry is complete and has received a * which I take to mean is ranked #1, but is not the best possible. Right now I have to find a way to transmit 16 euros to France. A wire costs $50. and your local cash checking establishment which uses Western Union, transfers funds to individuals -- not companies. I asked the coin emporium to carry the shortfall (on a nearly one thousand dollar order) as a debit, having done business with them several times in the past without incident. If anyone within the sound of my voice has any ideas, I would be happy to hear from you.

The first 50 years -- no offense to Coinbuf and other serious collectors of the series -- are, IMHO, the only ones worth collecting. Why? Because they were real. Today, coin collectors who refuse to be extorted by the U.S. Mint and their cronies, "the authorized distrubutors," are reduced to scavenging for "errors" dubious "varieties" and all manner of oddities which can easily be explained by "authorities" and "experts" who frequent this site. A very sad state of affairs indeed.

Your stunning, seemingly straight off the presumably for-circulation minting press never ceases to amaze me!

When you come right down to it, it is the investor-grade slabbed coins memorialized, in perpetuity, that separates the modest small-time coin collector from the old-time, card-carrying investor who looks to acquire a rare coin or accumulate a compilation worthy of top billing. France and Germany, unable to ignore the infusion of collectors (like me) who insist on the security and integrity of slabs, are now offering both the raw and slabbed coins and the sudden unexpected appearance of highly-graded restrike roosters only confirms my suspicions. [To date, Collectors Universe has never, to my knowledge, offered an upper-tier original French 20-franc gold rooster (1899-1906)].

Forgive me for saying so, but I cannot recall a single case here or elsewhere where someone purchased a coin raw - or proceeded to have it authenticated, certified, assigned a grade based on expert opinion, had it awarded a CAC sticker -- and then, and only then, submitted it for public autopsy. My friend, you are a true numismatist not afraid to ask questions even after a nice pink bow has been tied onto your "pretty little baby," as you put it. I hope for your sake a satisfactory explanation will be forthcoming. As Archie Bunker once said to his wife, "You done good Edith. You done real good!" That's a nice little baby you've got there if I may say so myself, but I do not have the requisite expertise to offer a dissection.

I have come across blackened coins from time to time. And if they are are of the clad persuasion, as this one clearly is [1989-P] I feel free to commit the ultimate sacrilege which is take a brillo pad to it which will not decrease its value by one cent. A cursory look clearly indicates its an ordinary dime -- take a look at the wear on Roosevelt's locks -- but, as the old Clairol commercial goes, "only [his] hairdresser knows for sure." For a more responsible explanation, I would wait until a Rosie lover like Just Bob weighs in. I suggest when all is said and done the term environmental damage will rear its ugly head. I myself prefer the less pejorative tarnish.

[True indeed. It took the fall of the Berlin wall and the dissolution of the great U.S.S.R. to get them to acknowledge Hitler was dead and to surrender his bones for x-ray analysis.]

Am I to believe lurking about on this site as long as you have, you are completely oblivious to the hullabaloo which ensued when the heavyweight champions of the Forum debated this very topic ad nauseam with an inconclusive result as to whether incandescence was far superior to elongated fluorescent lights? There are only a few gentlemen frequenting this site who can answer your query including Insider, Just Bob, VKurtB, RWB, and a handful of excitable types who have been warned and/or banned or destined to be so dealt who've been known to throw all caution to the wind who still might be inclined to assist you with this. I, myself, am not smart enough to respond to your query with intelligibility.

Absolutely bee-you-tee-full

No sir. It is a photograph of the person who purchased the item pictured - Quintus Arrius.

I have not the slightest idea what any of you are talking about (though it's not hard to admire brg5958's mastery of history) but to quote Jimmy in Goodfellas (1990) addressing Billy Batts, You [Coinbuff] are a little out of order yourself." Accordingly, paraphrasing Eddie Murphy in "Coming to America," I have little choice but to get up in a crowded NYC subway car, and proclaim: "From this moment on, I renounce my throne! I am no longer the principal troll on this Forum. I renounce my throne!" I collect coins (earning a star on my # 1 set, Rooster Roster PCGS) you have a magnificent collection of Lincoln cents, but Mark Feld is in a class by himself and whether he continues to choose to ignore me or not, entirely his prerogative, I retract my previously unwarranted and wholly undeserving, intemperate remarks and will henceforth address him with the respect and deference he deserves.