Henri Charriere

What prompted you to soak it in olive oil? Oh, I get it now. Olive Street, St. Louis. (Lemme find out VKurtB is not the only mad scientist cooking up concoctions!)

Actually, much worse. He was told what he was holding in his hand, didn't exist! In bureaucrat-speak, of course.

Gold is up 30%. Across-the-board unavailability at the high end has hindered me; unbeknownst to me (owing to my newfound newbie-ness status) I plunged in while prices were comparatively low. There are people out there trying to make a buck. Be extra cautious!

Googled Lucy Bop and got a You Tube video with neither likes nor dislikes for my trouble. I want my money back!

Miracles do happen, a fact worth acknowledging. I keep thinking about that kid who received a letter from a government official stating no 1943 copper pennies were made. Good thing he put it in a drawer at home. He was vindicated years later. Too bad he didn't live long enough to enjoy the fruits of his discovery.

[Forget about giving a thread legs. We, the devoted RR2020 fraternity, have given this thread golden wings. May the outpouring of knowledge and affection from this spigot continue unabated to time indefinite, even forever.]

And here I was thinking the fate of both NGC and ANACS were intricably and irretrievably intertwined. I thought I read somewhere that NGC will not accept a submission for cross from an owner of an ANACS-holdered coin.

And, of course, the inverse is true for the AE silver dollars with a recent article devoted to just this phenomenon (higher premiums) as investors clamor to know why. Coin shortage? I doubt it. Probably has to do with that nefarious cabal one of our number alluded to.

To penny collectors, everywhere: my deepest condolences.

As a certified admirer of RichieRich2020, I am prepared to make him a very attractive offer for the coin, which evidently skewed the orbit of the earth more so than the last cataclysmic, wide-ranging tsunami (2004) get this now, sight unseen AND prior to submission and authentication. I can do this because apparently, with the exception of a few hold-outs, you guys just don't get it. You do not understand RichieRich2020. And I, destined to win by 37 lengths, do. Ha! Ha! Ha!

To all who read this, you may quote me for attribution: "I want to go on record with an observation, stated unconditionally and unequivocally: RICHIERICH2020 IS TOPS IN MY BOOK!" There, I said it.

The thing of it is, the thread collapses like a deck of cards without our input. Row well, and live!

Finally, pay dirt! The No. 1 set, Rooster Roster, is mine, and quite frankly, I like the No. 2 set better. That guy worked [damned] hard to get to the top -- and actually held the No.1 slot briefly, but unbeknownst to him, I was delaying another update on my registry pending the arrival of two more key, hard to get roosters. I love your rooster and the only reason why I stopped at 1910 MS-66 is I tired of those minute, incremental increases in favor of whole grade updates -- which appears to have come to a grinding halt earlier this year. (Naturally, I am drowning in duplicates.) Certifying them at NGC would be a travesty and major departure from my MS-66 lineage. Incidentally, aside from a French collector who was in the process of divesting himself of his compilation and contacted me with a courtesy call -- as I explained to him, I already had a 1909 MS-67 which was then under consideration for cross at PCGS (and ultimately passed) -- you are the ONLY person to reach out to me on this subject, hence my comment that rooster owners are apparently reluctant to engage other collectors. Many thanks for your contribution. There is, as indicated elsewhere, plenty of room for improvement on my set, but not for lack of trying. Example: 1902. Highest grade: MS-64. Total certified by top TPGS: 3. I am stuck at MS-63. Gotta wait, I guess.

Meticulous scholarship. Impeccable credentials. Unassailable facts. Impressive!

[Allow me to preface my "flowery soapbox" style speech by offering a plausible reply to the poster who denounced me as a specially-designated Troll (yes, with a Capital T) and pointedly threw into my face the charge, framed as an accusation, that I had promised to take leave of this now legendary free-for-all: I LIED! Simple as that.] Now, where were we?... Oh yeah, RichieRich2020. For sheer staying power -- an intermittent post spread over five remarkable pages! -- you are the undisputed champ!!! I don't even remember what we were talking about. It's not even important because the default, go-to conclusion is problematic at best: submit it for autopsy, with a big WHAT IF looming. I don't know that it is possible to grade a coin virtually. I suspect even Fifth or Sixth Party Graders, with no axe to grind, would insist on a personal, physical consultation. That being said, and having exhausted the patience of onlookers (eager to go on to the next wildebeest mugging) I respectfully suggest you solicit an expert, if not professional, opinion again after waiting a decent interval for the air to clear. You will always be tops in my book and, talking about books, the Richie Rich comic books I enjoyed in my youth (circa late1950s/1960s) were terrific, especially the collaboration with Casper the Ghost!

My self-censored reply (which I am not man enough to post) originally read as follows: "Simple cat urine staining which can easily be removed with a spritz of Water Displacement formula number 40, a/k/a WD-40." As you can see, I do have the ability to bite my tongue. Seriously, Mr. L, you have the enviable luxury to conduct your own mad scientist resuscitation effort on this coin, a la VKurtB, no offense intended.

Well, you've got a point there. I have an 1804 Silver Dollar in magnificent condition: a concoction of the Intaglio Mint which has a clever way of skirting the "copy" designation by producing them in double the standard thickness size. The 1795 presents an unnaturally "clean" appearance. A red flag.

No offense to Learn, or my learned colleagues at large, but this pitiable example fully represents why I stopped out of the hobby some 50+ years ago. Again, no one wants to state the obvious: The Emperor Has No Clothes! What are we talking about here, damage of some kind to a CLAD coin? Anyone care to venture a guess as to the numismatic value of this shipwrecked relic? Do I hear 25? Fifty? My dear Mr. Learn, The ridership (those who delight in taking us all for a ride, newbie and oldie, alike) are being excruciatingly polite. Forget the classification. What I would really like to know is whether or not you are curious as to its numismatic worth? Or enough copper in the thing to salvage your quarter investment if the local laundry machine rejects it. It is perfectly alright for grown men to agonize, wring their hands and gnash their teeth over a Fugio cent. A clad, not so much. And a damaged one, in mixed company, never! My unremitting, totally biased and embarrassingly prejudiced opinion.

Well, whether fake or real, I would be curious to know its provenance, i.e., how you acquired it, from whom you purchased it, etc.

Ah, you're a mensch! I am all but constrained to defer to age and wisdom.

That may be fine for birthdays and weddings, but not coins. Recall those lovely sesquicentennial coins from 1926. Lighten up, VKurtB. Put down that jackhammer. Life is too short, especially now, in the twilight of our years.

Well, now you know the scientific name translated from the Latin Vulgate, by Jerome, c. 400 C.E. (Iuxta Vulgatum Versionem, Wurttembergisce Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart, 1975 which is very often confused with the Codex Leningrad B 19A, Heb., 1008 C.E., H.S., Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library, Leningrad, (now, present-day) Russia.

As I am generally discouraged, if not outright barred, from discussing roosters, I will throw all caution to the wind (hope our colleague, VKurtB, isn't peering over my shoulder, and offer the following)... In a nutshell, half the 16-coin run are "originals; the other half, "restrikes." For whatever the reason, they are notably unavailable in the top MS grades and, most regrettably for me, do not reside in anyone's Set Registry, here or elsewhere. Complicating matters are two apparent factors: the earlier originals reside in Europe and judging by the prevailing census reports seem to be the purview of PCGS (hence all the incomplete registry sets at NGC, including my own.) While they do come up for auction, they do so infrequently and apparently rarely at the upper end of [what I refer to as] the Richter scale. With the run-up in gold, I have been besieged by offers to buy my collections outright, or by offerings of lesser-grade specimens at now inflated prices. (Interestingly, some inattentive sellers are still offering their wares at below-melt cost!) Whether a SG or .18 [AGW] troy ounce "or Coq Marianne," (their formal name) I believe in buying low/selling high, but if an opportunity to upgrade presents itself, though my collection at PCGS is #1, I might consider it. Douglas Winter had the benefit of a lifetime of research, publishing and collecting. My days, at [damned near] 70, are almost over. I have enjoyed your posts and wish you all the best in the pursuit of arguably the finest coin ever produced by the mint!

I wrote the Mint director a few years ago to induce him to come up with some more appropriate designs in time for the country's SESTERCENTENNIAL (250th anniversary: 2026) and was politely advised that only Congress can make that call, after appropriate study. U.S. coins are just not as attractive as they once were and plenty of countries print better currency. (I am glad I picked up a number of those old trillion-dollar Zimbabwean banknotes when they were being sold for only five dollars.) To think, there was a time when U.S. coins were proudly featured on U.S. currency! Maybe a hitherto unknown artist can produce a rendering more deserving of national adulation. The present sludge just doesn't cut it. My opinion, right or wrong.

Nope, not you. Not even one Federal Reserve district can precipitate a shortage. (Drug money, however, can effect a surplus as seen in South Florida in the 1980's.)