Henri Charriere

Where do you stand on Gold right now, and why?

Allow me to answer, in kind. Re asking the same question about the same coin. Because in a crowd of members, there will very often be a knowledgable person not previously heard from who begs to disagree and comes armed with a compelling, diverging viewpoint. Re Powerball, a table game, or game of chance, it's like what Kenny Rogers sang in his song, "You have to know when to hold them. You have to know when to fold them." I don't recall anyone telling "Jeopardy James" he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of becoming the all-time champ. But by the grace of God, he did. Re the 1943 copper/bronze cent. It was not authorized and the young fellow who found one wasn't even looking for one. It was a serendipitous discovery. Yet every door was slammed in his face. Many species of bird and fish, thought be extinct have subsequently been found. In 1938, a living fossil, a coelacanth was found. In coin collecting, as in most hobbies, there are the regular collectors and then there are the fanatics. They are obsessed with the thought that if there is one out there, they will be the one to find it. We all know there are many coins in many series that remain unaccounted for. You never know what tomorrow may bring. 🐓

If this is a portent of the future, the time to buy is now. As the mantra goes, buy low, sell high. Thanks for the update!

This is an excellent, very well thought out and articulated response. Thanks for being generous with your time and helpful to the coin collecting community!

You are not suggesting the Moai are fallible, are you? 🤣

How 'bout a little Rodney Dangerfield-like humor... I can't get no respect at all. Why, with my luck, I'd wake up dead, and find that '82-D in the box with me. If it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any at all. 🤣 Thanks Moderation. A little levity now and then never hurt anybody.

I do not know the first thing about plating bubbles but what the bubble left behind was, by whatever term used, a depression or subsidence of the surface due to lack of sustenance resulting in bas-relief. 🤣

🐓: What was that all about? Q.A.: I have no idea. I don't recognize the regional dialect.

Excellent photography! Appreciate the close-ups!

Point well taken. In this endeavor, to quote Mark Twain, you have "lies, damned lies and statistics". Complicating matters are inconvenient truths and boatloads of opinions. Mostly the latter. In the real world, people will be brutally honest. They will tell you you have NO chance of winning the Powerball lottery. But someone somewhere always does. The Gold Standard is the letter written by no less an authority than the Director of the U.S. Mint declaring, in so many words, no copper cents were minted in 1943 and the poor kid he addressed that letter to evidently considered the matter closed. He quietly put his coin away in a drawer. Then, after his death, the truth surfaced. As long as there is a possibility, people will pursue it to the ends of the Earth. And it will be your job to enlighten them all, and do so nicely. 🤣

I am going to take the liberty of assuming you are referring to the Italian 500 lire. 🐓

Correctamundo, Kurt! My apologies to the membership. Whether they can be found in circulation, or not, is besides the point. They were determined, either by the Moai of Easter Island in eastern Polynesia or by other gods on high, to be the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. We are all duty-bound to respect that [and I need to brush up on my reading skills]. 🤣

Oh, I get it. The field was inundated compromising the underpinning resulting in the subsiding of the surface. My diagnosis still stands.

I am going to guess you are referring to the substantive damage sustained by the coin sometime during its 50+ years in circulation. It, to my untrained eye, appears to be nothing more and nothing less than inexplicable, garden variety PMD.

This comment will not be permitted to stand with Moderation, but here goes: What I see between the six and nine is an unmistakably public, and therefore positively unlawful and illegal, act of congress. But to be fair about things, how is what is depicted there any different from the significant debris field left behind by retreating glaciers most prominently seen in the area between 9 and 10 o' clock, to the immediate left of, and below IN, in the motto IGWT?

This is trick question! 🤣 If you are talking about rolls other than the ones comprised of coins delivered to concerns under contract with and directly from the U.S. Mint, or its branches, in the 1930's, i.e., unopened or otherwise untampered with, the answer is a resounding, No! I have a sneaky feeling our Roger would reject the claim as frivolous even if accompanied by videotape, seals and official markings. It seems to me the term UNCIRCULATED has lost its luster and been diluted by numismatists over time. I may collect MINT STATE gold roosters, but I am a strict constructionist at heart, meaning uncirculated means UNCIRCULATED. To the OP: I hereby award your topic and the comments it has elicited, five roosters 🐓 🐓 🐓 🐓 🐓, my highest rating!

No need to do that. @Fenntucky Mike has the link on his "100 Greatest U.S. Coins" post with the complete lists from both the 5th and 4th Editions. Read 'em and weep.

I think it best to make a clear distinction between Mint [Uncirculated) Sets by year, and Proof Sets by year, or range of years, as changes were made in packaging Speaking from experience, I do recall Proof Sets in the early years coming in standard, square, sealed sets. A member posted a cell photo of one. Another volunteered the year the changeover from cardboard flat boxes to quality paper envelopes took place. With the advent of financialization of the hobby, no doubt spurred by TPGS, still sealed boxes became rare. The interesting thing about the flat boxes was its contents, i.e., year, was not indicated on the box. Dealers penciled them in presumably by year postmarked. I do not recall any Mint set coming in a sealed white envelope in the 1960's, but then again, their cost was economical by today's standards. Prices being what they are today, you cannot rectify an error that may had been made unless you examine the product. [The only exception to this common-sense advice today is forwarding an unopened Monster Box of ASE directly to a TPGS for time-sensitive certification and First Strike/First Day of Issue attributions.] *** Just curious... Is there a reference a member can consult which definitively states how Proof and Uncirculated sets were originally packaged from the mid-1930's on? I think it would be useful to know as some collectors truly believe some sets were issued in "original" lucite holders.

[True, but put yourself in his place, new and as yet unaquainted with the combatants on the Chat Board. Hope springs eternal... if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.] 🐓

To the World Coin collectors of Ancients: Respectfully, the coin the OP owns was certified by NGC Ancients. He seeks additional information regarding same. Is there a standard world coin reference book he can consult to obtain its catalog or reference numbers?

[Shopping around for a second opinion. Who can blame him.]

You would think so.

As noted on a related-subject thread. Only 3 coins were deemed to be contenders for the 100 Greatest U.S. coins in the past 100 years; none are in circulation, presently.

@Fenntucky Mike : Take solace in the fact that the market will be the Final Arbiter, irrespective of our individual opinions. Now @GoldFinger1969 has raised an interesting point. A generation of collectors have come and gone. The dedicated book on just DEs may be just what's needed to drum up interest in a hobby that hasn't been updated in reference form in a generation. You never know what may strike the fancy of post baby-boomer generations flush with cash, not to be mention trust babies now largely gown up.

There ought to be a law against anyone enjoying a hobby this much.