Henri Charriere

In an aside on another thread recently, I bemoaned the fact that recognizable name-personalities were not, to my knowledge, being used to promote the hobby. Another member volunteered three names, and the matter I briefly mentioned was quietly dropped. Today, in researching an unrelated matter -- the 1908 gold half-eagle pattern that disappeared, I came across the following list of eight names compiled by Century Stamps and Coins (centurystamps.com): Wayne Gretzky, Jack Black, Nicole Kidman, Dennis Rodman (to whom the "Rocket Man" gifted a set of gold coins from North Korea) Martin Sheen, James Earl Jones, Nolan Gould and Kellan Lutz. I do not know what I found to be more surprising: the names that were on the list, or the names that were not. Interesting bit of trivia.

I like your scale. There is a surprising, refreshingly honest evaluative aspect to it you seldom encounter nowadays.

@VKurtB : Where is Vkurt "let the old thread rot" B, now that a distinguished old-time, well-respected thread-master has taken the liberty to weigh in? See, that's what I mean by "practical impossibility." You write as the mood moves you. N O H A R M D O N E.

Yo, G-Money, I'll make this short and simple. Do NOT squander any $$$ on an MS- anything until you have mastered the basics. You have the right to do whatever you please, but be smart. Skip the World and Ancient coins which require more knowledge, get your Red Book out and select a coin type that appeals to you and study up on the series. Every coin series has one or more key dates and/or mintmarks. Nothing wrong with keeping your eye on the prize, but concentrate on the ins and outs of a series. If you're looking to make a quick killing, the chances you will are remote. I have faith in you. Aw-eye? Aw-ite then. On the strength, G!

While I understand how you feel, what you propose is a practical impossibility. Setting aside for a moment the three longest-running threads on the U.S. World & Ancients forum, all of which were begun in 2006, and are miles long with posts made daily, there is a muddy morass of threads which lumber along like the one initiated by one member dissecting RWB's Double Eagle book as well as the "Official St-Gaudens Gold Coin Price Thread," started in 2021, which has amassed 441 [cell] posts of intermittent comments spread over 15 pages. One of the more successful lightning strikes, concerning the "cuirassed" coin which evolved rapidly, was wildly successful, and the matter of provenance resolved inside of a week. Surely you must have it in your heart to forgive the occasional faux pas of a new member who has not had the experience to learn the ropes just yet. I regarded the matter of the S.S. Central America as closed but was pleasantly surprised when one member reactivated it -- and felt honored when another weighed in with yet another shipwreck. I no longer retread old threads but when I do, it's for cause, otherwise our hosts will exile me to Siberia and I will go the way of that lawyer, Alexei Navalny. Is there a fate worse than having to explain, "Vy u Ahm-re-kin here? Vhat u do?" to a heavily-tattoed Russkie Bratva in the Gulag? Take it easy, Kurt. It's only a chat board.

If the unique Indian Half-Eagle pattern survived, and were posted to a forum by a newbie today, here are some of the comments it would likely elicit. [Names of members are redacted to protect the guilty]. I found this coin in a hidden compartment of my grandfather's desk while refurbishing it. Anybody know what it is and what it might be worth? Definitely a fake. And not even a good one. It's got Counterfeit written all over it. Looks like brass. You'll be lucky if you get melt for it if it's even gold. If it ain't in the Red Book, it doesn't exist. I see some doubling -- oh, never mind. The color is off. If you submit it, it'll come back in a body bag. If it is real, it will come back Details-Cleaned. C'mon Quintus! Don't get me started. It's not an error! It's not even real. There were no 1908's made using either the S-G or Indian designs. I don't want IT, whatever IT is, out there. There are enough fakes out there! In the future please take pictures of both sides that are focused, well-lit and closely cropped. This should be posted in the Newbies Forum. I would recommend you read the "Basic Resources" and "What you need to know" topics. If you submitted it, you would only be throwing good money after bad. Posted at the discretion of Moderation.

@IronCoinhunter13 : Based solely on the photographic evidence provided and the comments of crime scene investigators, your coin was not a result of mint-produced damage or error. Consequently, I am afraid I am going to have to withdraw my offer of $2.3 million for your Jefferson nickel of relatively recent vintage.

FWIW, the two devices on either side of the date appear to closely resemble the cornucopia (Horn of Plenty) and torche (torch) two anti-counterfeiting measures adopted by the French Mint and used on coins minted on or about 1902, and apparently since.

(Respectfully, see my post dated Sept. 16, 2022 which references a CoinWeek article in a topic, entitled: "Is this coin worth resubmitting for a regrade," by member MatthewDM11.)

I am sorry I put you through all the trouble of fact-checking this. Everything you've written is correct. I, too, saw the reference to FCI, Milan MI, but the official website of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, has never listed Thompson on it. True, the BOP accommodates both pre-trial detainees and sentenced inmates but a diligent search fails to disclose Thompson's present whereabouts. Jeffrey Epstein, a pre-trial detainee, died in custody, but his name remains on the record for historical purposes. The entire world knew El Chapo was being held in the MDC in Brooklyn, but his whereabouts were not disclosed until after he was sentenced and transferred to ADX-Florence, CO. After the first WTC bombers were convicted, they were flown immediately by helicopter to USP-Lewisburg, PA., until they were brought back to the city, sentenced, and interred at the supermax. When Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano decided to cooperate with Federal officials, his name and Reg. No. were removed from the records as are the names of all inmates in the WITSEC program. Thompson's quandary is almost unique, but nothing I have written or you have read should deter you from obtaining a copy of his book, "America's Lost Treasure," and "hearing" his story as recounted by him. The full-color photos accompanying the text are breathtakingly beautiful.

I asked myself the same thing. No correlation.

I wholeheartedly agree. The topic seems to have been abandoned but I don't understand why. Sandon's reply was so comprehensive that all can benefit from revisiting it. As regarding the Peace dollar, you could not pay ME to accept it as a gift. For the grade and price it lacks Wow! power, period. [To the OP: I do not believe your User name sufficiently captures your essence. I would like to respectfully suggest "G Money" as more befitting your nature and reflective of your station in the life.]

Q.A.: ... maximum of five on those silver 25-coin tubes...non-refundable... 🐓:. ...I thought membership had its privileges?... Q.A.: ... no, that was American Express...

Without further ado, I move the membership recognize this exceptional example, in grade and price, as the undisputed "King of the Low-Balls."

HA's stance makes sense. However, what you interpret as encouragement I see as deflection to a TPGS and deferring to their opinions. HA does not sell coins it grades: that would be a clear violation of conflict of interest. Luckily for them, they would not wish to perform that function which has the added responsibility of sidestepping responsibility. Whatever happens, their role is limited to accurately promoting products pored over by professionals.

Actually there is dropping it on its edge with any other Wheatie from a modest height. The copper coin will emit a resounding bell-like ring. The "imposter" will land with a thud and lie flat on its side. I would be curious to know what instrument was used to determine the composition in precise percentages. Does the coin respond to magnets? Copper won't.

In light of your reference to the duration of the exertion applied, may I be so bold as to inquire as to the formal name of the instrument employed [in lieu of your meticulously scrubbed and manicured thumb?]

If the field there is depressed, then one way to describe the phenomenon observed is an "inverted burial mound." Note: I hereby forfeit to NGC, and its subsidiaries, any claim I may have had as to intellectual property rights to the term used.

Possibly analogous to dental impressions taken of each jaw in a special clay-like substance preparatory to making dentures. (I do not, of course, speak from personal, first-hand experience.)

Evidently, it seems you have already made the acquaintance of this gentleman, hence the precious broadside. Malheureusement, we will likely never learn the seller's actual retail price.

While I am not licensed to practice coin-grading and am eminently unqualified to pass judgment on other members' coins, and Newbies in particular, I will offer two observations: The number Seven in the date of the coin posted above appears to have been caught in mid-vibration as evidenced by the lower extremity. As you will likely not be able to persuade an expert to believe you may be the sole owner of an unknown DDO of a single number, all by its lonesome, I would attribute it to the inevitable result of metal pounding metal, i.e. slippage a/k/a machine doubling. Rather than adhere to time-honored custom and dismissively sniff, "it is worthless," I will buck tradition and simply suggest it is not worth a premium. As every letter on the reverse appears legible to me, that leaves only the mint mark and I neither know where or when it was repositioned from the reverse to the obverse and, if a product of the Philadelphia branch mint, when it made its debut.

Exactly. We do not know what the OP collected nor how long they have lain dormant out of sight and mind. There is no telling what he may find.

As regarding the above assertion, I have never been able to verify or refute the claim. There is no record of a Tommy (or Thomas) Gregory Thompson having been in the custody of Federal prison officials before or after the ship was found in 1988, nearly 35 years ago. There are more convolutions in his legal odyssey than there are of my brain. He will be 72 next month and has appeared in court at least 19 times in the past 7-1/2 years. There is no comparable precedent for this seeming interminable predicament. This much we do know: in April 2015, he pled guilty for failure to appear on an earlier case -- it took U.S. Marshals two years to locate him, and was "sentenced" provisionally to two years in jail and a fine of $250,000. However, the plea bargain he agreed to included a requirement for Thompson to answer the questions about the whereabouts of 500 gold coins worth $2.5 million which he has adamantly refused to do claiming short-term memory loss. In the eyes of the judicial system, he broke the plea agreement and has yet to serve a single day in prison. He has been jailed as a detainee indefinitely on charges of contempt of court until he cooperates. In essence, were he to comply, it would be in the court's discretion as to whether his sentencing, the long deferred two years hanging over his head, would go forward and be enforced. In the meantime, he is being kept in custody as a detainee -- not a sentenced prisoner -- and has been for 7 years and has amassed fines totaling some $27 million dollars, and counting. In my initial posts, I made references to a large coffee table-sized book containing photos of the ship's bounty, its remarkable recovery (for which Thompson did not possess the necessary license resulting in lawsuits filed by 91 insurance entities) conservation and formal preparation for subsequent sales. If you enjoyed Kinder's "Ship of Gold," you will absolutely love Thompson's "America's Lost Treasure" (1998) and its superb color photos, if you can locate a copy. I appreciate the quote from an opera by Wagner. Posted at the discretion of Moderation.

BY 2035??? THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU TOLD ME WHEN YOU SAID, "TRUST ME, I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING." YOU TOLD ME IN MY LIFETIME! I'LL BE 84 THEN! SAY, WHAT IS THIS? A GAG?

Same genus, same species, but different sub-set or sub-species. "When you're a jet, you're a jet all the way," but precious metals is different with a major divergence in branches going all the way back to pre-Cambrian times. That distinction must be recognized and accepted. When the former owner of the '33 D.E. and one-cent magenta British Guiana postage stamp bid on those items, I seriously doubt it was because he was enamored of them. Those had INVESTMENT written all over them. There was the intent and expectation, whether expressed or not, that he would profit, and perhaps handsomely so, at some time in the future. Briefly, there is gold bullion and numismatic gold collectibles. That distinction must be maintained. All gold [and silver] coins are created equal within their respective series, but unlike bullion they are subject to the additional demands, or lackluster fickle ways of the market.