Henri Charriere

There is absolutely no reason to present a coin in other than a neutral generic flip that does not signal a prior determination had been made as to authentication and/or certification.

Who let the dogs out? Whatever happened to "Welcome to the Forum?" This collector is a newly-minted "mayfly" with mere hours on the site! Thank God for Just Bob, a gracious gentleman who knows how to keep things on an even, civil keel. To the OP: my apologies for the rude, unwarranted reception you received here which was not at all representative of the caliber of collectors frequenting this site.

The other causative problems, speaking strictly for myself being, short- and intermittent-attention span and an imperceptible loss of memory. [I was misquoted as having "dropped out" of coin collecting when I merely "stopped out." Big difference.]

I don't know if I am reading this right or not but the hand-delivered submission of a "raw" coin in an open casket, sorry, gasket, suggests a purposeful attempt to skew or influence the grading proces. I wonder if I would have been big enough to recuse myself from this blatant display of impropiety.

Well, there you have it. The OP; the party who made a suggestion; various parties (with a herd mentality) who, quick on the collective trigger, shot the perfectly good proposal down in cold blood; the referral itself; and notably one party who spat out, I don't want to hear anything more about "that dime." Then the good part: the party to whom the matter was referred -- amid a chorus of those who cried out, Don't waste his time like you wasted ours, graciously accepts, and the OP -- whom countless parties railed against and vilified as a troll who had already made up his own mind and would never accept a finding contrary to his own, surprises all other parties by humbly accepting news of the exchange which MF was not obligated to share. And through it all an intriguing aspect emerges: a "diagnostic marker," which one party, ME!, was quick to dismiss as nothing more than pigeon poop. This is merely an introduction; much work remains to be done. I do hope the OP follows through on the promising lead discovered. My best to all those who made this production possible. (I have to go now before someone realizes I broke my promise to remain off this thread.) 😉

(I am guilty of the same but have no plausible alibi.)

(Same questions I was asking myself...)

You see? I bring out the best in people!

Imagine that! I am 68. I remember becoming 67; I don't remember becoming 68, i.e., ...the past 11 months. Incredible. "Mother of mercy. Is this the end of Rico?" (Edward G. Robinson, Little Caesar - 1932)

An interesting related reference... Carrier's Case (Anonymous vs. The Sheriff of London, The Case of Carrier Who Broke Bulk) (1473) landmark English court case in the history of the definition of larceny.

Never mind all that. How come YOUR toolbar doesn't have highlighting in phosphorescent neon colors???

Duplication

For the record, there were three French 20-franc gold roosters offered for sale in 2019, all of which deserve mention in this thread, as follows: 1899 Piefort Essai (minted on a thick planchet) that was PCGS-graded SP-63 (Splendide MS-60-64) which was offered for sale for $13,440+ (Luxembourg); 1899 PCGS SP-65 Geoffrey Winstein, Win Numis (I failed to note the price). 1900 NGC PF-67 Matte which was offered for sale by Liberty Coin, CA. for $24,400 (and was either sold or withdrawn from sale).

Fake News! I was hacked. All right, all right... "I coulda been a contender! I coulda had class! I coulda been somebody! Now I am a nobody! I am nothing but a social media bum, thanks to V Kurt B."

Has it been that long? My wife informs me I will be 69 next month. (I remember being 67, but have no memory of 68.) I have been telling people for the past two years I am 70 -- and they say, "You look pretty good for 70." A Mint State 70 sounds pretty good, too. What's all this gotta do with 1970-S proof quarters? Nothing.

I bask in the undeserving love and respect you shower me with VKurtB. I guess there is a part of me that just wants to see the average Joe get a fair shake. I have no enemies. I don't crave a following. You won't find me on social media. As I have stated on a prior occasion, I may not agree with everything everyone says, but I am constrained to defend, with my life, if necessary, everybody's right to express an opinion. That, of course, includes you for whom I have a begrudging respect for as the very first person to try to cut me down to size on this Forum. On balance, Coinbuf's, simple "No," was far more devastating. I was forced to give up my job refereeing the RichieRich2020 super heavyweight world championship, from which there is no coming back.😉

[Aside: I'd be willing to bet Mr. RWB, the scholarly author of the OP -- (which, being unfamiliar with the 1937 D. B. commemorative, was a revelation to me) -- never in his wildest dreams would have thought a straight-forward critique of a COIN WEEK article would provoke such a tangential fury in the hornet's nest this thread has become.]

(Can't. All I've pretty much got left are Roosters, remember?)

Not trying to be flippant here, but how does an ex-employee gain access to a federal facility -- or is he now an ex-employee who committed the dastardly act as an employee?

This is the baseless pejorative on-line term that has been leveled against me by those who I suspect do not appreciate, or perhaps do not understand, my brand of humor and take exception to my thoughts -- and support of underdogs who simply wish to get a second- third- or fourth opinion without being bullied and run out of town. You know you are onto something when the numismatic experts among us, shoot down a proposal to simply present a thorn in our collective sides (some eight pages long) to another coin expert as a waste of time only to find out, after referral and consultation, that the expert was delighted to investigate the matter. Troll? I've been called worse. And, Alex, thanks for making the Forum a place where we can all express our thoughts and feelings freely and without fear of unwarranted criticism. P.S. Regarding the matter of merger of TPGS... though I don't deign to know the inside story, I suspect some of the same naysayers now said the same thing re Bowers joining with Stack's, i.e., "Never happen! You don't know what you're talking about! The government won't allow it!" Really! They are businesses and businesses are run subject to bottom lines. Whether by hostile takeover or a simple determination that merger would be in their best interests, it can happen. You cannot rule it out. Law firms routinely reorganize, merge and dissolve because that's the way businesses survive. And with the Covid-19, we are entering uncharted territory. Anything can happen.

Who needs the cross-grade concession when you have artificial constructs like First Strikes, Limited Editions, special proprietary labels for that rare coin guy on tv, monster boxes certified retroactively and the various mints releasing stockpiled coins nobody knew were there, gold coins formerly housed anonymously in Europe to circumvent U.S. law, shipwrecked coins, ad infinitum, ad nauseam. You're talking small potatoes; I am talking Big Picture IMNSHO -- and I've got the rank amateur status to back it all up! 😉

Never say never! Never underestimate the power of the economic juggernauts amongst us that devour at will. These are perilous times. Lord & Taylor, around since forever, gone. Brooks Brothers, gone too. The Covid-19 virus has changed the landscape. How many people watching right now ever thought they would cancel a coin convention? I have seen a lot of surprises in my lifetime. Someone's loss is another's opportunity. The pending merger, as far as I am concerned, is a done deal. A few years hence you will marvel at the accurate prediction made by that rank amateur, ME! The one they called Troll!

Dem's fightin' words. I am glad I gave these gentlemen extra-wide berth...

Your explanation of "mirror" triggered both a memory, and a recollection: "Hmm, so that's what that was." . My brother and I began collecting Morgan dollars straight from the bank, as teenagers. I recall checking tail feathers for one date (we found both 7- and 8-tail varieties, 1878?) AND one that was exceptionally bright and shiny. This was very likely a PL specimen whereof you speak. Now I get it.