Henri Charriere

Hey, Error Coin guy!  I haven't gotten any sleep over the past 5-1/2 years agonizing over this.  How about an update?  Enquiring minds want to know IF you get my drift...

On 12/20/2019 at 9:20 PM, robec1347 said:

I've been busy re-imaging my Lincoln's as well. I forgot that I even had a couple of Reds.

Impossibly beautiful specimens! (Funny how I never noticed the "M" in AMERICA, as rendered, looks hauntingly familiar to the "M" in MACHT on the sign at Aushwitz.)

On 9/23/2013 at 6:26 PM, Keigwin said:

Had to come back and look at this fine specimen what with rumors flying that the Mint is considering suspending production of pennies in the face of COVID-19 and the two cents it is costing them to maintain mintage of this classic coin series...

On 7/23/2020 at 2:48 AM, megan81 said:

How to sort a replica from an original if the coin is so old, like the posted posted by OP here. Is there consistent way of doing this or it will vary each time depending upon the coin and its vintage ?

I don't want to be contrary, but it's gotten to the point where China has developed such a questionable reputation that if I were offered a 10,000 Gourde limited mintage gold coin commemorating Haiti's former dictator, Francois Duvalier -- from a seller in China, that would be enough to extinguish my interest. RWB is correct; there would be little point, value-wise, in authenticating such a coin.

On 5/7/2019 at 5:30 PM, Mohawk said:

Indeed it is, my friend.  And I hear you about US gold coins.....the only one that really has even minor appeal to me is the $10 Indian and I think all of the denominations of Liberty Head gold are absolutely dreadful......if I had to select the one coin design that I disliked the most of any that I am aware of in the whole world in all eras of history, it would easily be the Gobrecht Liberty Head on the $2.50's, $5's and 10's.  I actually owned one once and I had immediate buyer's remorse.  The Italian 20 Liras and the British Sovereigns, on the other hand, are gorgeous!  It's pretty cool that your wife lived in Italy as a child, too.  I can see the 20 Liras having a great meaning to you because of that.  And, as you know, I like Roman coins quite a bit.  In a way, they're kind of the original Italian coins.  I'm not much of a gold guy, really, but I would like to have a Faustina the Younger aureus someday but those are quite pricey....from what I've seen, they start around $4,500 and only go up from there.  Maybe someday, though.

That's my cue... alright, if I win the lottery someday I'll treat myself to an electrum from Lydia, land of my forefathers, and throw you five grand to go get your aureus. Interesting choice!

18 hours ago, King Dry 169 said:

I’m going to add some more photos that I took of the coin myself. I really want to gather as many complete opinions as possible.

Sorry I have no pics of raw coin - the case is brand new if that helps...

Thank you 

 

 

What would be the point of cleaning a coin if you leave cigarette burns as prominently featured on the obverse at 8, 11 and 2:30 o' clock? Fugazy cleaning job.

8 hours ago, World Colonial said:

I have expressed the sentiments in the quote you extracted from my post many times but it's not to knock anyone's collecting.  It's just a fact and an evident explanation for common current (US) collecting behavior.

Decades ago when most US collecting was out of circulation, there was almost no specialization in these series and my explanation for it is that the sets were a lot more difficult to complete since most weren't paying any premiums.  Now with improved communication mostly due to the internet, collectors need to find a new challenge.  This is my explanation for the increased US preference for full strikes (such as FS and FB), toning, errors, die varieties and registry competition.  A coin or series which can be bought (essentially) on demand or short notice (in practically any quality) can be made as easy or difficult as the collector chooses based upon the application of this narrow criteria.

(To paraphrase one of the Duke brothers in "Trading Places," (1983?):  Well done, World Colonial. Very Well Done!)

8 hours ago, World Colonial said:

 

From the comfort, safety and relative anonymity of a chat room, the rather vocal poodle taunts the older bulldogs. I say let the underdog have his fun! (And be prepared to make RR2020 an offer he can't refuse if he pulls an upset.)  

On 5/4/2020 at 10:52 PM, Truly Clean said:

Another new Morgan.  Hope I'm not boring everybody.  I only do Morgans (and I hope I can stop after that).  I COULD show pics of my first grandson instead  

This is now my most costly but not my favorite.  

 

 

Absolutely the nicest Carson City I have laid eyes on in my nearly 70 years on this earth. Good for you!

On 6/1/2020 at 10:35 PM, kbbpll said:

Love the Columbus medal. But did they screw up 1492? The three Roman numeral calculators I tried say "MCDXCII".

Here's my recent arrival.

For reasons I have never understood, the cornerstone-layers of many of the older buildings in New York City took literary license and departed from the rules of formal "grading," as it were, preferring to render, 19--, MCM, as MDCCCC, and 90, XC, as LXXXX. The correct rendering, as you've noted, is MCMXCII. (I believe the '07 St. Gauden's Double Eagle also conformed to this scheme, likely for effect.) Nice Barber!

7 hours ago, World Colonial said:

 Anyone who has the money can complete most US series in one day, a week, a month or some other short time period except in some narrow quality.  

Talk about the desirability of assembling a collection in short order!  To think I was derided by one of the heavyweights on this forum for simply stating my intent at the very outset of assembling a collection of French 20-franc gold roosters in 90 days. The fact of the matter is we are talking a grand total of 16 coins, half of which are generally unavailable in any grade, with plenty of room for upgrading. I can hear the naysayers now: "Aw c'mon.  If we wanted to bust your chops, we'd've told you to go home and get your shinebox."  THANK YOU WORLD COLONIAL FOR VINDICATING ME!  While I have the No. 1 compilation elsewhere -- with plenty of room for upgrading as specimens become available, it would never occur to me to deride another collector's niche fixation. If someone were seized with the compulsion to complete a set of $4 gold Stellas, I certainly would not begrudge his choice. To those who enjoy tearing down, try uplifting instead. Bear in mind, there may be Young Numismatists watching!

(Whatever else must be said, you have to admire the tenacity of a guy who, intermittently, and reportedly over two years' time, is willing to hold his own against an aggregate 150 years of cumulative collective professional numismatic experience. The worst that can happen? Much ado about nothing. The best? Yet another contribution to the hobby. The alleged seven-figure valuation? What did that entity claim you had and what did he charge you for his written appraisal? We're not talking sensitive Top Secret disclosure that would compromise the national security of the nation here.)

8 minutes ago, Just Bob said:

Does that mean that I am going to jail because of all of those coins I put on the railroad tracks when I was a kid?

No, the statute of limitations resolved those indiscretions. "Mister 880" (Edward Mueller) the man at the center of a ten-year Secret Service counterfeit currency investigation -- the agency's longest and costliest, when finally caught in 1948 responded with a toothy grin and the remark: "They were only one-dollar bills." True indeed, but nevertheless unlawful and illegal. Like I said, a polite reminder.

May I politely remind the numismatic fraternity at large that defacing coins produced by the various U.S. mints is a federal offense: see Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 331.

4 minutes ago, Cat Bath said:

Payed MS63 money but I had to have it.

My only pedigree saint arrived last week.

Looks like VKurtB was right. Again. Certification is but one factor to consider. I myself did what I had to do and took the plunge after I decided to "sleep on [a buying decision]" on three separate occasions only to discover the seldom available offering had been snapped up at a price not much more than that I had agonized over. You had to have it. Perfectly understandable.

In the absence of once ubiquitous brick-and-mortar establishments, and your understandable reluctance to put yourself out there with photographs, you're only other option is direct submission to a TPG such as NGC. (How much you ought to insure your parcel for is a valid concern; I rely on Registered postal mail and a nominal amount of insurance.) An auction house is going to want to see something, anything, to substantiate your claim that you own a particular item worthy of their attention and that means certification, or detailed photos they can check. Even those Pawn Stars rely on experts to render an opinion -- with the item in question right there in front of them.

(Why do I feel this splendid 1943 Lincoln is going to turn out to be made from steel and not copper? If you have car trouble would you jump onto a chat board you never knew existed, or take it to a mechanic? You're going to have to be more forthcoming. What are you going to do when you win the New York State lottery which bars claiming a prize anonymously? Contact a reputable, NGC-authorized local coin dealer, like Stack's, which has been around since well before the advent of clad coinage, for authentication. One more thing: condition matters. Just giving you a heads-up here.)

37 minutes ago, Coinbuf said:

So lets deep dive into your amazing Lincoln, btw I am a Lincoln collector and have been for over 20 years so I do know something of the series.  I have no idea why you received grade guesses as low as MS62, perhaps your photos were not clear, perhaps your badgering of this dime nonsense made it easy for people to give low guesses because they didn't believe you or just wanted you to go away.  It is also possible that the coin you show in the slab was not the coin you asked for a grade assessment on, I have not seen the thread where you asked and provided photos so I'm just pointing out some possible scenarios.  But whatever the case the 1963-D is not rare in MS66RD PCGS has graded 247 with 30 higher, NGC has 453 with 9 higher, it retails for $50-$60 so you will be lucky to break even on it after the grading fees.  These are just facts and I'm not tearing down your coin because it looks nice but it is not rare or monumental in any sense.  And of course PCGS will be happy to take your money and reconsider your coin as they will any PCGS graded coin, but that does not guaranty an upgrade, only that it will get a second, third, fourth, or as many looks as you are willing to pay for.

 

As to your dime I very much doubt that it is any sort of mint error, and in all honesty as you have demonstrated the ability to submit to PCGS so it appears that you know it is not what you claim.  It seems that it would be worth having it graded just so you can throw it in the face of all these experts if for no other reason.  Looking forward to your posting your grade results or seeing you on the PCGS forum in two years.  

 

Oh and just to mention the rims mean nothing those could have been protected with some tape while the surfaces were blasted, easy peasy.

(I don't know that I would have the audacity and endurance to challenge your recitation of straight-forward, no-axe-to-grind, immutable facts. How does one come back from such punishing blows? You've effectively made short work of that constant refrain regarding the unmolested edge. As Archie Bunker said to his wife Edith, "You [Coinbuf] are something else!").

On 12/13/2019 at 5:07 AM, Jade Collection said:

I want them to allow PCGS coins to the World Registry, I have a few pcgs coins for the world coins I collect that I can add!!

I am with you on that. One of the major reasons why most Set Registries of French 20-franc gold rooster coins stagnate is the unavailability of NGC-graded material for the earlier (original) years, 1899-1906. Not sure whose fault that is. Sadly, the coins I seek -- which can be counted on one hand -- exist but languish outside the Registry in an inaccessible Twilight Zone.

1 hour ago, VKurtB said:

Rich,

 

You really do have to stop it with this dime. It's getting ridiculous. You've been beating this dead horse for two years now. There. Is. No. Such. Thing. As. A. 1993-D. Matte. Dime. Forget it.

(I am still hoping someone will step forward and claim responsibility for this desecration even going so far as to concede extra care was taken to protect the edges.)

I don't know about Saints but that recent announcement from the People's Bank of China re the Forbidden City gold commemorative sets has gotten me to thinking, Who can afford a 1-kilogram gold coin?  Talk about deep pockets!

3 minutes ago, RWB said:

Sandblasted after it left the mint. This was done to some 1921 Peace dollars in an attempt to fool collectors into paying "proof coin" money.

Hate to say it but that matte finish and the so-called "business strike" of the 2016 centennial gold mercs -- which had the undesirable (though possibly intentional effect) of muting all semblance of detail -- appear similar. Mildly disappointing, to say the least.

Just now, Walkerfan said:

@Quintus Arrius Money really isn't the issue here.  It's more about me being satisfied with what I already have and having had my day in the Sun.  I'm going to focus on other areas, now.  Thanks.

Fair enough. Five years? What a mensch!  

Here I was, all ready to throw my two cents in having been derisively dismissed as a novice and self-proclaimed coin expert, my reputation still intact after a knock-down skirmish with the heavy hitters, when suddenly the obvious occurred to me: the coin, ultimately, is of no value and submitting it for grading makes no economic sense -- and, worse than squandering perfectly good money, would end this hot-and-bothered donnybrook with an unsatisfying lost-by-a-nose finish. I am going to wait patiently for VKurtB to chime in.  Nice try RichieRich... "now go home and get your shinebox."  No Sale!

Walkerfan, as DJ Khalid said in those commercials, Don't give up!  Who knows, if you're young, suddenly win the lottery, and still have the fire and inclination, you can reclaim your #1 spot. Never say never, I always say, and yes, all those top tier collections are lovely. (The only Walker I have is a 37-S in VF condition I've held onto for sentimental reasons.)

On 7/25/2020 at 5:35 PM, RWB said:

"Maroon discoloration" occurs when coins are left isolated and unappreciated on a lonely safe deposit box island. The get sad and morose (another color, darker than maroon) and eventually some turn green with envy at other coins that are more cared for and cherished. Marooned coins come not from Treasure Island or even Gilligan's Island, but from the Land of the Lost.   

Maroon discoloration?

On 7/25/2020 at 5:35 PM, RWB said:

"Maroon discoloration" occurs when coins are left isolated and unappreciated on a lonely safe deposit box island. The get sad and morose (another color, darker than maroon) and eventually some turn green with envy at other coins that are more cared for and cherished. Marooned coins come not from Treasure Island or even Gilligan's Island, but from the Land of the Lost.   

Maroon discoloration? Never heard of this. Kind of like the Binion Hoard only with a less precious metal. Sad.