Henri Charriere

Numismatically? Let's see... I would upgrade my #1-ranked French 20-franc gold rooster collection, presently complete elsewhere, and make it, hands- down, both the current and all-time finest possible set with the highest possible set rating. I would duplicate the effort here and since I don't like to be kept waiting, I would send a small army of expeditors out armed with hard cash to make offers to present collectors of the coins needed they simply cannot refuse. Needless to say, FMVs across the board will be skewed in ways heretofore never deemed possible if I were to entertain entreaties or inquiries from fellow collectors. I have thirteen members in mind. How about you? What would you do?

ACQUISITIONS AND POSSESSIONS: My personal view... I was frankly surprised (shocked) at learning the lengths to which some collectors go to safeguard their treasures. Safe-deposit boxes, underground vaults... mattresses. When Jack Rolland Murphy, better known as "Murf the Surf," burglarized the American Museum of Natural History with a few accomplices 60 years ago, he had no Plan B: no fence to which to take the Star of India, the DeLong Ruby, and other baubles to. Some things are not worth the trouble of taking because they are unique. No one -- except a private collector -- would touch easily identifiable property from a well-publicized heist. When I was knee-high to a grasshopper, my mother sat me down and espoused her philosophy of life. She said, "Son, you do not have to buy anything because everything is yours already." Her point was everything of value is already on display in one institution or another free [at least back then] for viewing within business hours. Things you have, never will have and things you never knew you didn't need. No different from safekeeping items in a bank. That, of course, does not take into consideration my collector "instinct." My standard of living, which I steadfastly maintain is the lowest on the Forum, will have no effect on my life whether the value of my collection of 20-franc gold roosters rise dramatically in price, or plummet. I will always be me. As I told a member recently, I do not believe in Final Expenses, burial or cremations. My plan, which I really ought to patent, is to erect an industrial strength slingshot at the nearest active volcano -- and that's that. I refuse to support funeral homes and unnecessary pageantry, cemeteries and potter's fields, all of which entail expense, space, and impose a burden on others and the environment. As I have indicated elsewhere, taking my que from the title of a popular old book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten ©️

I happened upon this item that just came hot off the wire. Since I am not fluent in numismsytique, I will leave it to you, gentle reader, and others to mull over. Variety Attribution, 1976-D [Bicentennial] Doubled-Die Quarter. Class 5 Pivoted Die Doubling, FS 101. The [PCGS] narrator explains in a short video that during that year the dies were hubbed at least twice. Somewhere in between, the die in use "pivoted" by one degree (1°) resulting in doubling of the letters above Washington's head as well as the date below. A total of 54 thus far have been found, one of which sold for $8400 in May 2020. I regret to inform all involved that I am all but constrained to withdraw my offer of $37 million. 🤣 To the OP: Please feel free to BUMP this thread in keeping with local custom.

I agree. Mintage is a given. Rarity, according the the Great z is dependent on availability but demand is fickle.

Granted, somewhat of a dated post, but chop-marks, I suppose, are interesting in their own right. Do they add value to a coin? If someone chooses to have a particularly uniquely mark example bad enough, he would gladly pay a premium. A parallel is the serial number on a bank note. Interesting sequences make it more valuable to those who collect them. Otherwise, they are worth face. A gentleman wanted to drill a hole into my large 100 oz t Engelhardt bar. I asked him why? After all it has a high-profile Hallmark, specific specs as well as a precise weight. I asked him what he planned to do with it. He lied and said, melt it. To him it was scrap. He was from Uzbekistan and I assume he either never saw one before or simply didn't know better. The chop-marked Trade Dollar is not uncommon. I believe what RWB articulated is the painful truth. After all, how can an intentionally damaged coin be worth more? If it is an interesting mark -- some coins have engraved signatures -- it goes without saying some people would want them badly enough to pay for the privilege of owning one. I suppose the Grand Master and Numismatist of the Year is entitled to express his personally-held view.

Your auction lots, now that Heritage Auctions has issued its promotional materials publicizing the multi-session, multi-day event series, has clearly exceeded my expectations. The entire effort undertaken with an eye toward errors and oddities appears to be one of a kind. You may well have achieved the ultimate status: provenanced to the Flynn collection. I wish you all the best!

Time availing in the near future, I would appreciate your in depth insight into how each of the above criteria figured in your decision to acquire the Crown 1847 Victoria Gothic proof, as disclosed elsewhere if you are so inclined.

They appear to be normal, civilized collectors. They do not wring hands, gnash teeth or otherwise agonize endlessly over coins, particularly in the Mint State grades. That is why he has counseled me and others to concentrate on the best of the best, otherwise known as "stempelglantz" (ST) in Germany, "Fleur De Coin" (FDC) in France, both of which correspond to the grades of from MS-65 to MS-70 in the USA. One of the few exceptions he makes for sight-unseen, in-person examination, are the coins and coin sets issued by the various Mints of the World. He is one of a kind.

I take it you're not a fan of infinitesimal gradation, i.e., extending Sheldon from 0 to 100. There's big money behind dem dar small numbers. 🤣

I agree. -a capella 3700. 🤣

[Submitting this coin would be both a waste of time and money. Besides, turn-around times are long enough. Listening and learning won't help if you're mind is already made up -- or you are the creator of this Frankenstein cent and get a big kick out of seeing hobbyists wrack their brains in the absence of an official autopsy report. My suggestion is more practical. If you wish to be taken seriously, jettison the run-on sentences and acquaint yourself with the rudimentaries of the King's English including the use of punctuation such as Capital letters and periods. There is a big difference between texting, messaging and leaving formal, coherent, respectful comments.]

I believe the youngest collectors amongst us would be shocked to see how U.S. Mint coins were packed in the early 1950's. Cardboard flat packs and flimsy, translucent glassine holders stapled together at top. Carbon spots on proof coins, I was told, was normal and to be expected. I doubt the Uncirculated mint sets were selectively hand-picked. Very primitive by today's standards. One more difference: the mint products were affordable; I feel some of the prices I have seen today are way out of line. If gold continues to rise, it will be a U.S. Mint one-ounce Buffalo that will breach the $3,000 threshold first.

I see three takeaways here: 1. While there are collectors here who are intimately familiar with the various TPGS and their progression of holders (generations) through the years, most I would assume are not. It is clear to me the OP's first example represents a deliberate attempt at deception. PCGS would have grounds to sue for trade-mark infringement. As the operation appears to be limited, the seller could be served with a "cease and desist" order. 2. While neutral observers describe the top two TPGS as being such, a careful reading of the literature put out by each of the top two claim superiority in carefully worded language. They will cite the number of coins certified, the storied collections they have handled, and the record prices realized at auctions. 3. All irregularities encountered by buyers at coin shows, however small, whether advertised or not, should be reported, either to the on-site organizer, if one is present -- and documentary evidence collected and presented on a forum here, or, if egregious enough, to the TPGS whose reputation is possibly being tarnished. I thank the OP for introducing this topic and the eye-opening information provided herein.

You read.me like a book. Who knows, maybe there are some who'll go back and take a second look. 🤔

You're right. I don't know what the FMV is on something like this, but unless there is on Or Best Offer (OBO) option I am not going over $37 million USD for the one pegged at $50 mil. The fact that USD is included in the listing suggests it may be directed at an overseas audience that may not be familiar with the nearly 50 year-old design and, consequently, do not know better. Who knows, maybe the Sultan of Brunei may find it interesting.

It is.my understanding that at one time Harriet Tubman's likeness was considered for the twenty-dollar bill relegating Andrew Jackson's to the archives. Now the Mint is prepared to release her image on coinage. I know who she was, I know what she did and why she is being honored. My only question is, is it just me, or has anyone else felt the photograph used as a model is most unflattering. Or is this photograph, which I have seen repeatedly, the only one available?

In view of the variety of tchotchkes being certified by NGC's acronymical offshoots, nothing surprises me. Nothing.

I truly regret to inform you I am unable to meet your asking price at this time.

[Following is my view, so unique (some might dismiss it as clearly uninformed, skewed, perhaps even delusional) that you will not see it expressed anywhere else... To be fair about it, my perspective is higher Mint State grades as it relates to a series of French coins over a hundred years old. I believe I have enough experience with my range, MS-65 thru MS-70, that I can identify what is not in that grade range, as opposed to what is. Unlike the majority of coin connoisseurs, I accept a grader's opinion as one would words carved into granite. I cannot imagine picking up a coin and, after careful scrutiny, deciding it is doubtless an MS-67 and submitting it with the expectation that a TPGS will agree. Likewise, I cannot imagine acquiring a coin certified as an MS-67 and after consulting my library, voicing a vociferous objection to the assigned grade. I am likely probably the only member who does not feel I need to have an intimate working knowledge of grading, per se, because I collect a single 16-coin series with which I am familiar. Besides, I pay doctors and dentists and accept their diagnoses without question and I know little about either. Why? Because that's their job. Likewise graders. That's what I pay them for. To simply do their job. My feeling is if you submit a coin for grading, regardless of your knowledge, you will likely not get the specific MS grade you were expecting. And then what? Similarly, if you acquire a certified coin and beg to differ with the verdict rendered, what are you going to do? Join the Crack-out Squad, of which there are countless numbers, and keep resubmitting it until you get the grade you feel is more appropriate and you can live with? Is that cost-effective? The most confounding statement I have ever come across, which was voiced by a distinguished member here on another thread recently, was related to a discussion of "adjectival grades." He offered an accepted, standard definition of "Brilliant Uncirculated," or BU, as encompassing every Mint State grade from 60 thru 70. Consider that in some series (mine included) the Fair Market Value, or FMV, of an MS-67 is twice that of an MS-66! I regard that circumstance as a possible corruption hazard. 🤔 By all means, immerse yourself in the wonderful world of Mint State grades, but bear in mind -- information, education and experience, notwithstanding -- your opinion may coincide, but never supersede a grader's, unless you are prepared to assume the prohibitive cost of shopping around for an opinion you can live with (and feel is more appropriate). Just my two cents.]

[I had to come back and think this over. "Documented melting" is problematic. Not all meltings are documented. I believe many old copper pennies and 90% silver content coinage was melted -- and there are a 100 million gold roosters whose present whereabouts, particularly the earlier ones, 1899-1906, are unknown. Who knows how many were smuggled out during the chaos of civil disturbances and war. (I have an open-ended standing reward offer of $500, over and above FMV for the three I have expressed an interest in buying with no takers in over a year. N o t o n e p e e p!)]

I am beginning to think producing coins -- used less and less in ordinary commerce, is no longer economical. So here's an idea Why not sell 'em to the public? New York City Transit started with tickets and chop boxes, introduced nickels in '53, then nickels and dimes together, then a series of privately-minted tokens, gradually shifted to refillable MetroCards, first blue, then gold, and have since moved on to Tap and Go OMNY devices. The only coins that should be sold, if the Mint insists on selling them for an extravagant and at times, exorbitant price are bullion pieces. Ah well, this is something future generations ought to consider. Rant over.

Yeah, and I am one of them. Why? For no other reason than being unalterably opposed to the placement of the date of the coin anywhere other than the obverse. This "trend" began years ago with the introduction of those greasy Sacs. What was the point? No room? Now you've got a coin with yawning fields, and STILL the dates are incised or incused in barely legible print where you would least expect them to be, against history and convention. Ridiculous. I have no comment about the veneration of plows. Maybe a scythe would have been a far more interesting choice. Rant over.

[If you suspect a coin may be rare, or special in any way, get into the habit of handling it like a coin collector: by the edges, between your thumb and forefinger. As any tears would appear to be convex, and not concave, they are not suggestive of tears, but I would set this coin aside as interesting and by all means call it a crying Washington.]

What some enquiring.minds would like to know is what tool was used to determine the depth of that crevasse? No measuring instrument I am familiar with is thin enough to insert into a crack at a depth of 3mm.

I don't know about numismatics, but the hobby bears no resemblance to what it was sixty years ago, before silver was withdrawn from circulation. Poor analogy perhaps, but there are parallels: About 90% of the world's oceans have been depleted of fish. I don't know if it's always been that way, but fish caught commercially, like tuna, is weighed and sold at auction. Much of this has been reliably reported by investigative reporters in papers of record. Where is the point of no return? No one knows. Coins, coin collecting and selling have become the province of investors. Encapsulation has accelerated the process. Is there any difference between flipping real estate and flipping coins? We are at a crossroads. Only time will tell whether their remains a middle ground anymore in collecting common coins for pleasure and treating high-end coins like paintings, classic cars and one-of-a-kind sports collectibles. Anyone in the field strictly for the short term -- long enough to make a killing and get out -- may be in for a big disappointment. The saving grace for others will be the inexorable rise in precious metals prices. What keeps numismatics healthy is not the life and death of collectors, but sustained demand amid shrinking supplies. All good things must come to an end.