Henri Charriere

I cannot help you with identification, but if I may, I should like to politely suggest you hold every coin -- more so possible Ancients -- by the edge with two fingers whether found at a garage sale or garbage dump. The human skin of a palm secretes perspiration, oils and warmth, all enemies of metals.

Decision Day (D-Day) : 6 juin 2024. [ Official Receipt of Confirmation of Order and projected delivery date: on or about June 13.] Numero de commande: # 54298 Method de paiement: Autre Prix sous-total: 1.638.97 € Expedition: 60 € Total: 1,698.97 € (which I rounded off to 1,700 Euros which = 1851.23 USD) *** EDITORIAL COMMENT: I believe a serious collector of French 20-francs gold roosters (or Coq Marianne) ought to have a rudimentary working knowledge of the French language. Regarding Thomas Numismatics, I should like to point out three things. 1- Cash/currency is not an acceptable payment option of any country. (When I sent a USPS money order, which is for domestic use only) to a U.S. seller, he balked and I realized it was not a negotiable matter according to the terms of eBay and their bosom buddy, PayPal. 2- So how did T.N. handle this potential international incident? With finesse. Look at what they recorded for posterity in their records above for "Method of payment": "Autre," which is French for "other." That's classy and clever. 3- As I mentioned either earlier in this column, or on another, I got the impression the seller conducts business only with people they know. So how were they able to reconcile this sale professionally without my logging in? Simple. They arbitrarily assigned me a User Name and intricate Password which looked like something you would need to access nuclear codes. An Auto-fill function was provided with the advice that should I choose another it be sufficiently garbled and enviably incomprehensible. Incidentally, I knew, after conversion from USD to €uros the price (exclusive of what Customs will surely exact from me) and what with a volatile market, the Grand Total would be between $1700 and $1900, hence the $2,000 remittance to cover all contingencies. I guess I differ from other buyers in that I feel any discussion of price or reimbursement of excess funds is beneath me. Notably absent from the "invoice" was any mention of the remittance made and the difference between it and the final price. In the general scheme of things, it amounts to petty cash. I don't sweat the small stuff.

Hi there! If you want to speed things up, why not Google "2021 Lincoln Head cent," and see what they have to say about it. I do not collect these, but I would guess it is the reverse that intrigues you. It is always best to submit clear, focused, properly cropped photos of your find to enable us to see exactly what it is you are referring to.

To the O[riginal] P[oster]: It is always refreshing to hear from people who are fairly new to the hobby. The truth is most of those who are still around, from forty years ago and more (pre-TPGSs) were on our own. Oddities and curiosities were whatever the coin shop keepers behind the counter said they were. When silver was withdrawn from circulation, all of the sudden, the emphasis was on acquiring halves, quarters and dimes. No questions asked. If your "man in the street," generally uninformed about numismatic value possibilities walked in, so much better for the dealers. There was no telling what jewel they were walking in with unbeknownst to them. Today, there is a question about the quality of advice being dispensed. Grading was certainly simpler: Fair, Good, Very Good, Fine... all the way up to Unciculated. Proofs, were proofs. Then Sheldon introduced a scale to theoretically address the problem of grading coins. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, investors saw untapped opportunities and older hobbyists were shunted aside, politely. I am sorry to say I do not have any useful advice to give you except to point you the leading columns on the Forum regarding "Basic Resources" and "What You Need To Know." There is a place in this hobby for everyone dictated only by your age, budget and specific area of interest. In the beginning, most of us gravitated to a specific coin type that struck their fancy. Many collected different coin types simultaneously. Others devoted their attention to improving the quality of the coins they already had. They soon learned, with the help of a "Red Book" that certain "key dates" were more difficult to find than others. The conscientious collector saved up enough money to buy them. None of what I've written has answered your general questions. The truth is to truly understand the ins-and-outs of this hobby, you must have time to devote to it. I read what others have written and if has no specific application to the coins and series I collect, I move on: if it doesn't apply, I let if fly. I no longer collect Mint or Proof sets, so-called "modern" coins and older U.S. coins. I feel it is the up-and-coming younger generations that will determine the ultimate trajectory of this hobby. There are some truly wonderful members in this hobby who have amassed stunning collections over time. I cannot think of a single instance I logged in and logged out later without learning something I never knew before. I encourage you to study the replies and comments made and I virtually guarantee you will inadvertently come across a member, or members, whose views resonate and coincide with yours. Happy Hunting! 🐓

@cladking : Not to worry. My tirade was wholly tongue-in-cheek and the truth is I enjoy reading everything you write. It was you who informed me clads were remarkable innovations and you were honest enough to acknowledge the earliest ones -- greasy and totally lacking definition in their features -- have since improved dramatically. Your observations concerning the Red Book's pricing information ring true because even today it is impossible to obtain current information on the highest grade coins. If I were younger and never experienced receiving silver in change I would likely feel the same way you do. I appreciate your assertiveness while making assertions and the fact you do not resort to name-calling and hurling insults. After all, it's a hobby. Nothing to get all bent out of shape about. My next and last gold rooster a unique tin uniface on a hexagonal planchet is in the mail and should reach me by next week. I have never contested anything you have ever said about "moderns" because I retracted my antennae on them decades ago. I simply do not know enough to engage anyone in intelligent discourse about them. 🐓

I am very wary of those who cry "ERROR" 36 years after the mintage date. However, there is a possibility, however remote, that what you may have is an "8" over "8". But, unfortunately, you will likely never be able to explain the mechanics involved in being able to accomplish that contortionist act. The problem is some of the members on this Forum are so experienced that they require three seconds, if that, to consider all the possibilities. Your only recourse is to thank everyone for their time, excuse yourself graciously, and advise you have accepted the best offer someone made for it which was $1.37 million + shipping. 🤣 Never concede defeat. Always hold your head up high.

Actually, the bad news is it may no longer be accepted by a proprietor (or Coin Star machine) as one cent. The good news is its a lifelong member of the rarely heard from Wheatie sect and seeing as how it is comprised of 90% copper, its melt values is a few cents. (Copper has risen so much that I would not be surprised if it were withdrawn from all other U.S. coins in which it is the primary ingredient in the alloy.) As your coin has lost whatever numismatic value it may have once had, I would hold on to it.

Absolutely right, J P M! I should have known better after stumbling across an item which included the precise percentages of gold in the F20F GR series. I could never figure out why the older ones differed from the restrikes until I saw those percentages -- which, while insisting both were 90%, actually differed enough to give one group a more coppery color. You got me there; my apologies!

I have no proof but considering the workload, I would say scores - some on-call, working round-the-clock, in rotating shifts.

I routinely Like a member's posts solely because his avatar intimidates me, but I can't see myself speaking up to challenge NGC. Why are babysitters and dog walkers paid so much? Who knows, maybe NGC will find a teenager living at home or a retiree with time on his hands to do the work if found to be satisfactory. One of the best-kept secrets is the people doing construction work, gardening and landscaping are migrants and Asians in restaurants.

I do not believe toning, per se, adheres to any schedule. There are way too many variables involved in the metal in question and it's exposure to an infinite number of chemical vapors in the air, moderated by heat, humidity -- or lack there of. Storage is a variable, too. What was also stored in the immediate vicinity? How much ventilation was it subjected to? What clear plastics were used to house the coins in? You have attractive peripheral iridescent blue toning, a muted yellow of gold toning evenly distributed-- and coins exhibiting wild psychedelic toning with a spectrum of colors. The factors are limitless and one cannot account for an individual collector's taste.

Hold-on-wait-a-minute... You want to run that by me again? The only analogy that comes to mind is the diluent (yes, correctly spelled) chosen to make a controlled substance less so. Example: How come A overdosed on X and B, his girlfriend, said X "fell off," that is had no effect on her? "More copper and less zinc?" I don't know. You're going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to get my vote. Coca-Cola, is a brand-name, trademarked product produced to exacting specifications. You are perilously close to suggesting a government agency produced a generic product with little or no quality control. Oh, we still Kool 'n' the Gang, but I ain't buyin' it.

"Quarter round," eh? I would love to call you out and suggest you invented this term, but it is so fitting. Looks like I am going to have to let you slide on this and commend you for broadening the "body of knowledge."

Excellent photos! It is by sheer dint of luck you received valid advice from a coterie of highly-acclaimed members. Had you not confided ANACS was the TPGS used in your title, you would have squandered your money. I do hope the answers you received did not make you any madder than you are. No hobbyist can claim to have gone through the experience of collecting unscathed. You've got lovely coins there. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move on. All the best!

@Captain Murder : Hereinabove, is the answer to your question. Now, onto yet another revelation apparently withheld from me ever since I became a member: the probable genesis of the crack-out phenomenon stated so matter-of-factly that even a cautious reader would miss it. As it has already been established NGC will not accept ANACS encapsulations for cross-over consideration, it stands to reason (if not against your religious beliefs) you will crack the coin out and submit it raw. Coinbuf's suggestion you resubmit your coin to ANACS is inapplicable as other members have already deemed your coin to be ineligible for the attributions sought: FS and FBL. Finally, a credible answer to the eternal question: What was the origin of the crack-out influenza? A leak from a lab? No. Hoped-for increase in value with an incremental elevation in grade. Yes. But NGC's stance on barring holders of all other TPGS other than PCGS from entering their inner sanctum is a monumental observation. Man, I love this place!

Q.A.: Oh, for Chris's sake. Look what you made me do! The mad scientist inadvertently revealed one of his carefuly-guarded secrets. Sorry, Kurt!

I figure 21 (post high-school) to 35. Teenagers don't have much money to "invest." I would settle for 30.

🐓 : I believe Kurt is speaking from first-hand knowledge and experience. Q.A.: Surely you are NOT suggesting I ask him! [On the other hand, I seriously doubt a coin can sustain this type of damage -- and most assuredly not from a single blow.] It's a dated thread. Fuhgettabouitit.

I should have known better. My, my, I cannot believe Forbes has stooped so low...

"The Fed Quietly 'Admits' Gold is Replacing the Dollar As Collapse 'Fear' Predicted To Trigger A $15.7 Trillion EFT Billion Price Flip," by Billy Banbraugh, Forbes, Updated Je 4, 2024, 0604am EDT.

Danny Downer here. Awful lot of optimism in the air, but I come equipped with an app for that: my pending proposal, briefly noted as TBSOL. TIME-BARRED [BY MY] (PROPOSED) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. Time is money and an inordinately disproportionate amount of time is being wasted on 20th century alleged ERRORS. A collector has a quarter of a century to bring forth his claim. If he, and a succession of others, fail to do so... my sincere condolences. True, varieties have been "discovered" 200 years after the fact, but nobody has dedicated a Forum on their identification. Maybe what's needed is a separate Forum devoted to fanatics of these numismatic mutations. IMNSHO.

I will have to cop to a charge of "evaporative reasoning." The coin appears to look a lot better from a distance. I can definitely see why you would suggest a Mint State-67. [I believe a -68 would be a wish upon a star.] I believe having been infected with the virus that results in automatic incrementalization of coins via Sheldon has irretrivably skewed my ability to view coins the way the Europeans do: all grades in the range from MS-65 to MS-70 comprise a single grade, and that's that. Realistically, while your Merc falls squarely within that "grade," having pored over the comments thus far submitted, my gut feeling is the reverse appears finer than the obverse, and may even qualify for a + grade (depending, of course, on which side of the bed the Grade Finalizer falls out from that morning) but an MS-66 or even MS-67 would not be unrealistic expectations. It's actual collectors of this series who are better qualified to pass judgment on this coin. Worse comes worse, you have a very attractive "silver" dime and silver has risen dramatically.

This is neither here nor there, but crypto, to me, entails risk and risk-taking is advisedly the province of the young. I wish there were some way to determine the median age of folks who engage in this type of activity.

Looks like I really missed a good one here. This is typically the damage you would find after a coin is placed on a railroad track. Considering the date, more likely a trolley track. With the speed of trains today, and the weight of carriages, the coin will vibrate on the rail as the train approaches and very often fall off the track before being struck. Sometimes, the unintended occurs: a train approaches slowly and the coin and track become one. Disclaimer: I vociferously deny gaining this insight from first-hand knowledge and experience.

(If I were to ever consider compiling some of the more memorable replies or comments made on the Forum, this one would be included. Come to think of it @VKurtB, a prolific writer would deserve his own Topic, entitled: "The Best of VKurt.") [Comment made in good faith; posted at the sole discretion of Moderation.)