Henri Charriere

You got that right!

Makes sense. Will do. Tks.

I am sorry to hear that because what it implies is the TPG to which coins are submitted record just the submission and leave the other TPG twisting in the wind. Unbelievable! Thanks.

I am Spartacus. I am inclined to agree, and will even go further: when your particular set is "complete" and you are fully-invested but there is still room for upgrading, you will take your cue from "all-in Jeopardy James" and take the plunge irrespective of the leading economic indicators otherwise your set will languish in the purgatory of infinite dormancy.

No, I did not. As a dyed-in-the wool, card-carrying census stalker I asked myself a simple question: what is the likelihood that my three (3) cross-grade requests, involving foreign coins over a hundred years old at the upper-most grading tiers, would be honored "simultaneously" with submissions from another source for the years involved? The odds would be DNA-like astronomical. One in a quadrillion? All the necessary (correct) adjustments had already been made. If I am wrong, I have some work to do.

Impossible to answer without clarification and context.

Not for nothing, but how many people have actually taken a cold hard look at that VDB or the micro printing on these new bills.

Here's where my "rank amateur" status is confirmed: I honestly assumed the photographs taken by TPG were akin to the identification scanners used by the Gemological Institute (or similar concern) which records the unique markers on coins, much like DNA, to discourage theft, counterfeiting, etc.for all posterity so that if you were to resubmit a coin some guy further down the grading line would exclaim, "Hey Mike, com'ere a minute will you. Where've we seen this before?"

I find it absolutely despicable that the hobby I enjoyed as a child (where Morgan dollars were available for the asking from the local bank) has descended to the level that what I chose to regard as rumor is a robust phenomenon with a name: crack-out. The last time I violated a tenet of my religion, and requested cross-grading service, I was pleasantly surprised when one was up-graded and all labels were returned to me unsolicited and I saw that the necessary adjustments had been made to the respective TPG populations involved.

What a shame! I am sure she has her own theory as to why Brenner's initials were removed from the reverse AND why they were placed on Lincoln's right shoulder [where they can be viewed in all their incised, bas-relief splendor with a thirty mag lens]. Ha! Ha! Ha! Dino the Dinosaur, indeed.

Thanks.

I can see you have been talking to my sister again.

An encapsulated coin represents a population the sanctity of which must be honored if it is to have any meaning at all for a hobby beset by unreported de-encapsulations and mass meltings of unknown quantities of precious metals. A Hoard is simply a point of reference like S.S.C.A. shipwreck gold helpful in establishing provenance. Price is dictated by supply and demand. Some of the more notable Hoard releases have shifted the orbits of some major compilations for all time.

The commutation papers are on the governor's desk awaiting his signature.

True. Sounds way better than a hobo nickel.

Inherently bad form to even suggest this but an entirely legitimate query.

I do not know what kind of Journal you have in mind but I would avoid changing the name to The Wall Street Journal.

And the intact accent aigu over the lower-case e and well-defined dentil work -- and superb overall condition contribute to the desirability of your coin.

There are actually 13 NCG-graded MS67s and 27 PCGS-graded MS67s and two more graded 67+, one each from the above TPG fraternity that for reasons frowned upon by "the experts" remain unacknowledged. That's 42 gorgeous gems BUT not one from the period I tabbed 1899 to 1906, generally referred to as the originals. Imagine paying well over $1,000 for a legitimate coin one-half the investor community refuses to recognize, much less acknowledge, as evident in your response which is by no means uncommon. [If the Dino the Dinosaur guy is watching, how about some "perspective" on this?]

There is something to be said for a coin whose minting predates a country's existence.

The only error I see is mis-placement of the entry wound. Lincoln was shot, while seated, from behind.

Short set? Ha! Ha! Ha! I have two complete sets: one PCGS and a hybrid comprised of superseded PCGS coins, seven NGC, an ANACS, and five or six raw uncertified Mint State gems. Upgrading is ongoing. I learned the actual grading process inadvertently when I submitted two specimens for cross-grading, learned that both passed muster as MS66s and immediately received an overture from a company stating they had two coins which would fill the voids in one collection quite handsomely as they were the precise dates I had submitted. When I wrote Customer Service for an assurance this was an incredible coincidence and not my coins, I received a doctoral-like dissertation on the entire process meticulously adhered to in their hermetically-sealed assembly-line of consultations. The "short set" you refer to lacks one coin, matching the other seven in grade, leaving me with a Hobson's choice familiar to all Rooster collectors: squandering additional funds on a coin with the appropriate dress-slab; engaging in further mass cross-grading which is, at base, a totally unnecessary, superfluous, technical expenditure of funds -- or waiting for NGC to accept world "gold" coinage certified by other TPGs, as it is expected to do in due course, a long overdue, but economically wise move that should have been undertaken in the last millennium. One final thought: there is a difference between grabbing a bite to eat, and dining. If I were to secure Dino the Dinosaur's signed endorsement of the use of my sentimental, high-powered, half- century old loupe (in lieu of a microscope) would you be willing to let that matter lie or would you rather risk an abdominal aorta aneurism continuing to harp on a relatively minor matter akin to whether I should remove my hat when entering an elevator occupied by women or wearing pegged vs. fully-cuffed trousers? Grading, ideally, appears to be nothing more than Grade Point Average -- a consensus reached after a meeting of the minds.

You wouldn't understand. I am a collector; not an investor. A connoisseur of French 20-franc or coq Marianne. My 30X loupe was a gift from a jeweler I worked for at a Diamond District (NYC) storefront in 1971. I have a very handy, totally useless 6X glass which my wife now uses to read the daily paper. The fact that a mere rank amateur -- your professional diagnosis I am honored to accept -- managed to compile the # 1 ranked Rooster Roster on the West Coast will hopefully provide the needed motivation to inspire the handful of serious contenders out there to complete their respective collections to the best of their ability. I appreciate your input!

Ebay and the larger, well-known auctions houses are giant juggernauts which for the most part eschew discussion and negotiation. Two of the more notable responses I have received, both from highly regarded, long-time establishments are a curt reference to a coin's "Fair Market Value," and a gleefully snarky: "How badly do you want it?" (Both were evoked through exceedingly polite, well-reasoned texting on my part.) While I cannot argue with VKurtBs premise, I cannot help but recall that sequence in the movie Trading Places where Dan Ackroyd, down on his luck, is compelled to enumerate the various attributes of his "sculptured" $6,953 roche foucault wristwatch, functional to a depth of "three atmospheres," when the proprietor of a pawnshop cooly responds with, "Here in Philadelphia [your watch] is worth fifty bucks," effectively ending all negotiation. Last year when I called a well-regarded Florida dealer to complain that the MS66 Rooster he had sold me had a distinct thumb print on its reverse prompting me to examine it more closely with a 30X glass, I was told, "you should be using 7 magnification!" When I persisted, he offered to take it back, but I demurred as it was not he who had graded the coin but one of the TPGs. Would that same coin have been graded MS67 minus the 'print? Could I have used the "defect" as a bargaining chip [as VKurtB undoubtedly would have done]? Undoubtedly.

This query is deserving of a serious response. I submitted a number of raw French 20-franc gold roosters to a third-party grader absolutely confident that one would be the very first ever accorded a MS68 grade, minimum. (I own five graded MS67 so I know what excellence looks like and revel in the term, "none graded finer.") Imagine my disappointment when this impeccable coin, strongly struck, with sharp devices, dazzling eye appeal and original mint lustre and no observable defects was dismissed as a mere MS64+! Worse, it is not a part of my Set Registry rated # 1. Submit it for "reconsideration"? Out of the question. Like the teenager rebuffed for years after claiming he had found a 1943 copper Lincoln cent, I will keep it and never offer it for sale. I don't believe I have any Peace Dollars but am aware of their unique wear anomalies. Your specimen is what I would call suspect subjectivity, particularly since is has been "certified." The only saving grace is silver prices are rising. How does one draw the line between an coin that has not been cleaned -- and one with poor eye appeal? I sympathize with you completely.