Henri Charriere

[I believe it fair to say -- particularly in the midst of a quietly raging, full-blown pandemic, that were it not for the internet, many more brick-and-mortar concerns, already struggling in a tight market with slim profit margins, would have closed their doors for good. Many of us have been fortunate enough to have lived long enough to witness great moments in numismatic history play out before us with our own eyes. And I truly believe better days are yet to come.]

[Can't wait to hear what RWB and VKurtB have to say about all this...]

[Forgive me, Rocket man, for ruminating out loud here]... I want to believe, however unlikely, that some shnook mistook a coin for a coaster but the dead-on-balls precision of the damage is highly suggestive of malicious aforethought and intent. (Reminds me of that '37 three-cent Feuchtwanger sporting similar localized damage apparently caused by the application of a small diameter wooden dowel to the center of the reverse which was then slowly rotated long enough and with enough pressure to leave a tell-tale circular mark virtually impossible to ignore -- except by the third-party grader which inexplicably assigned it a superior upper tier grade, without comment, thereby enabling its owner to command a stratospheric price. In coin collecting it's poor form to point out the glaringly obvious: "Hey guys, what about that, whatchamacallit, on the back ?" Retort: you buyin' or jus' cryin'? Read the sign: PRINCIPALS ONLY! Caveat emptor.

This is a curious comment coming from someone with arguably one of the finest collection of a single type of coin, billions of which have been produced, and a statistically insignificant number of which have undergone certification. The truth is the entire universe comprised of all coins lies in uncharted waters and we are only beginning to understand what it is we did not even know existed before the discoveries of caches, vaults, hoards and shipwrecks.

[Come to think of it, I can recall Gimbel's department store at Herald Square had a small coin counter on its first floor in the early 1960s.]

[Pay me no mind, Oldhoopster. I am just considering the possibilities, however absurd, on paper. The very worst that can happen is being taken seriously.]

[I don't know about all that but the flight characteristics and staining patterns of blood makes this coin a prized piece of forensic crime scene evidence.] 😉

[It seems to me the only way this can be resolved, responsibly, and if the disparity in price justifies it, is through re-submission to NGC but this will likely involve an additional expense.]

[Hard to believe it happened a quarter of a century ago but one of the more memorable, "want-the-coin? buy-the-set" scenarios involved the proof 1995-W ASE's some 30,000 of which were struck and available only to collectors who purchased the 10th Anniversary 4-coin gold set for $999. My recollection is there was little or no advance notice and by the time the phenomenon was recognized it was too late to respond and the value of those manufactured rarities peaked at $30,000. I leave it to others to debate whether this was done intentionally or not.]

[It is a comfort to know every shipwreck will be located and its payload raised, and that every hoard of coins will be found. The so-called Treasure of the Sierra Madre, I'm not so sure about, but then I only saw the movie version (1948) with Bogart and Huston.]

[Notably auto parts.]

[Everyone touts the power of FMV -- until FFF, the Fickle Finger of Fate, shows up... then all bets are off.]

If these have minimal value they'd be good candidates for that hobo line of artistry. 😉

If Albany, New York can be honored with a commemorative half-dollar on the occasion of its 250th anniversary (1936) would it really be asking too much to respond in kind with a special line of classic coin designs to mark the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States (2026)? Seems to be a lot of resistance to this by the collector community but I am not sure exactly why. Do you feel the coins [and currency] currently in circulation are the very best we can do? There's something missing and it's not just denticles.

[Probably the most disheartening thing I've read this year.]

[It's your thread, friend. You are free to do with it what you wish. Besides, some tangential off-thread remarks inadvertently evoke rich veins of little-known historical facts. How many collectors can accurately describe exactly what distinguishes a Choice or Gem from a Brilliant Uncirculated coin? Sheldonization was inevitable.]

Coin Talk a scam? I don't believe so but something funny happened on the way to that Forum. I followed through on my threat to join, and after lurking about intermittently for a month or two -- without uttering a single word, tapped a Like of a comment of a member who ignores me here, and presto!... I became one of the vanished. It really ought to be illegal for anyone to have that kind of power.

[I defer to my peer and do so politely.]

Welcome back, old-timer! I, too, stopped out of the hobby in the Sixties and though I have followed developments over the years, only jumped back in two years ago. I have a small pet project I am working on as I am at that age when divestment seems to be the only sensible pursuit. It may interest you to know that old Red books and blue Whitman albums have become collectibles in their own right. You have the right mind-set and approach and will do fine in a hobby that offers infinite possibilities. I wish you all the best!

No known peer until every '59 flat-box has been opened and examined.

[Here's a thought that is sure to rile up some folks. Imperceptible to all but the most attentive is the thought that numbers on coins are larger in the hotter summer months and smaller during the frigid winters. This principle also explains the clickety-clack of train rails.] The serious collector would do well to familiarize him/her self with all aspects of already authenticated examples and consider too that the FDC (fleur de coin) you seek will find you, before you find it.

I believe the mintage of '09 "S" V.D.B. cents runs twice that and have always been considered scarce, no?

Was numismatics called the "Hobby of Kings"? Yes. Was it once, was it ever, the "Hobby of Kings"? No, never. Any chance it could become the "Hobby of Kings"? Considering the hobby's apparently irreversible and increasing vulgarization, no. Not by a long shot. Coin collecting neatly embraces the entire spectrum of wealth and where you stand on the continuum of mental illness vs. eccentricity is largely dependent on who you are and how much money you have in your pocket.

True, but would not the weight reflected be skewed and inaccurate?

There is a gaping hole in my Set Registry at the 1912 MS66 position. For esthetic purposes, I long ago decided I wanted to maintain the re-strike line (1907-1914) at MS66. Suddenly, an MS67 surfaced which put me in a quandary: buy it as is and become one of the few collectors to display one at NGC, or cross it and allow it to fraternize with its many associates on my PCGS Registry. The dealer was within a stone's throw of PCGS and I requested he send it directly to them for cross-grading (something I would not be able to do because I had allowed my membership to lapse). With long turn-around times, pandemic sanitation precautionary measures in place and the USPS apparently reverting to dirigibles for air delivery, I promised myself I would allow all parties to proceed at their own pace without annoying calls to Customer Service inquiring as to order status. Eventually, I got a call from a surprisingly amiable Christian at Liberty who told me the coin failed to cross. Just Bob, this has never happened to me in my entire life. My money would be refunded after adjustments had been made complicated by my refusal to use PayPal, my involvement with two separate TPGS, the cost of registering and insuring a coin based on FMV, and ultimately time, postage and resources. Decapsulation/re-encapsulation. What a mess. Naturally, I apologized for putting them through all this a process through which all parties maintained their cordiality and professionalism. [Some trivia: There are presently 619 compilations in NGCs Set Registry for France. Of those, 326 feature 20-franc coins from 1870 - Date. A grand total of 34 French 20-franc gold rooster collections remain extant. [During the last run-up in gold prices, dozens of previously unseen roosters were submitted for formal grading -- mainly in Europe (France, Germany) with only a few assessed at MS 67, all in the restrike (1907-1914) range many of which have since been sold.]