Henri Charriere

🐓:  What's the finest fineness you ever heard of?
Q.A.:  Four nines:  .9999.
🐓  :  So what happened to the other .0001?
Q.A.:  According to Wm S. Burroughs, God kept it for himself.  🤣 

I see a few problems with your assertions -- and I am not taking sides.  It seems to me Idhair, relying on personal knowledge and experience, would not feel comfortable advocating for something that cannot produce consistent, positive results, so he would rather "err" on the side of safety.  You managed to get one by NGC, but considering their caseload and the average interval spent on a never-ending cascade of coins, why wouldn't some slip by? One member who very likely is not convinced or impressed is RWB.  You cannot prove the '34 quarter was treated; he cannot prove it wasn't. VKurtB cautions Newbies to stay away from YouTube. I say some people simply need guidance. Is alcohol, tobacco and drugs dangerous?  Not if you don't use them.  I don't think any member has an axe to grind in dissuading others to engage in potentially consequential activity.

🐓 :  "....wasted..."  There goes your theory on sentimental value. Pfttt!  Any more brilliant deductions?
Q.A.:  Remember the time I bought that USPS money order for two ($0.02) cents, and the nice lady behind the counter asked me if I knew what I was doing? I said yes, and it was well worth the price.  I can see there is no intimidating you and holding you will serve no useful purpose.  You don't owe me or anyone else an explanation... 
Go ahead and release him, Ricky. You're a good sport power guy!  
 
 

🐓:  May I cross-examine the witness?
Q.A.:  Sure, go right ahead!
MV:  Did I say something wrong???
🐓:  Not at all...  I am curious to know if you have ever gotten a gift that had you sitting there, after unwrapping it, totally perplexed? Or received.something that made you wonder, "Why this?"  (Worse case scenario: getting something you can't stand... Why would anyone give me this???)
I have a theory that this was how and why "re-gifting" began.  Hence, all the stories about unwanted fruitcakes, positively revolting neckties and totally useless tchotchkes.  Doormen, superintendent, porters -- even the regular postal worker get red envelopes from me. My attitude is, I want them to know I really appreciated their service and can count on their cooperation next time. Now, you might rightly say, "but I'm not talking about service people.  I am talking about my family and friends." Fair enough. My response: some people are "giftable," others are not. I don't particularly care for gifts; sometimes they cause problems.  I gave my mother gifts of things I knew she absolutely loved: flowers, Lily of the Valley-scented, triple-milled three-bar boxes of soap from France and perfumes.  Decades later, she passed away and tucked away with everything else was a love letter I had written to a girl in elementary school (who later realized her dream in Hollywood) -- and every box of soap and perfume I had bought her for her birthday, Mother's Day and other special occasions. I asked my sister who was going through her things with me, "Why?" and she had apparently confided her they were too lovely to open and use.  No wonder every kid I grew up with said they wished they had a mother like mine.  I can recall saying to any number of people, "Here, get yourself something you really want." They understand.
Cash may seem impersonal but it helps to explain to your recipient why you made that choice. The most difficult gifts are those intended for "the person who has nothing," and "the person who has everything"
I made a promise to a person on this Forum that if I won one of the big lotteries, I would get him the High-Wire Act (SG DE MCMVIII) the coin he always had his eye on.  I intend to keep that promise, with or w/o his knowledge.
(Posted at the discretion of Moderation.)

J-1950 not my coin

Easy. Have you met my Mother?
 
If I send her {birthday|Mother's Day|Anniversary} card two weeks ahead of the date, I get a snarky comment about being early.
 
If I send her {birthday|Mother's Day|Anniversary} card so that it should arrive per USPS published delivery standards on the Friday or Day before said event ... it arrives late (bleep you DeJoy) and I get an endless rasher of {redacted}.
 
Tracking allows me to show I mailed it on time.
Photos prove what the card said so I can refresh my memory at how clever I am.

Great then you're really going to love my next post about proper copper verdigris removal and stabilization using 2.5% molar Sodium Sesquicarbonate solution soak. Be sure to tune in to learn how a professional numismatist conservationist chemically conserves coins. You're welcome to check my work anytime.

AWWWW but I NEED your advice Id never make it without it....PLease????

It's amazing how these items hold such sentimental value.

Those gifts are beyond special, especially the tokens tied to your family history. Sentimental gifts hit differently, right? And that metal detector for your fam sounds like a blast, perfect for some quality time together hunting for hidden treasures! Speaking of meaningful presents, have you ever considered customized jewelry? It’s another way to capture memories and stories, just like those tokens.

Connecting your hobby to your family and history sounds like a great way to enjoy it even more. The Brits Detecting Club sounds like a fun group to be a part of. Treating yourself to a lump of coal that sparkles in the sunlight for Christmas is a unique and cool idea!

When it comes to Christmas gifts, I'm all about giving experiences over things. Instead of just stuff, why not gift someone a top things to do? It could be tickets to a cool event, like a concert or a sports game, or maybe a day out doing something they love, like hiking or wine tasting. These kinds of gifts create memories and are way more meaningful than just another item to clutter up the house. So, if you're stuck on what to get someone, think about giving them an experience they'll never forget! What do you reckon?

Oh, I thought they were searching for truffles. 
The old store and brickyard sites should be great places to search for coins and tokens.
Speaking of truffles --- I gave my new son-in-law pile of real Kentucky country ham -- thin sliced. He loves ham and this was really special for him. (His family is from Florida -- all they have there is canned iguana, iguana kebabs, and frozen candied iguana on a stick.)

Very nice!!! Cant never go wrong with some of Mr Langes knowledge. Awsome gift!!!

My daughter got this for me. Perfect gift I think. 

I have nothing to substantiate this assertion, but I have a feeling there are many more holed coins in India than in any other country in the world. The "coins," whether real or not are composed of 22k, or 91.6% pure gold.  German silver, contains no silver at all.  It contains a 60% Cu base, 20% Zn, and 20 % Ni. The English have their own system:  Sterling is 92.5% while Brittania (which I have never encountered  is at least 95.84% silver.
Getting back to India [which appears to hold their gold in high regard, I would assume the gold worn as jewelry has no real numismatic value and its true worth is as a form of wearable bullion] but I want to emphasize that is only my feeling particularly after visiting the heart of Little India and it's countless gold shops in Jakson Heights, Queens, N.Y. Holed coins are not common but my impression after perusing a number of catalogs from Europe is holed coins with numismatic value are rarely available for sale. As jewelry, gold outnumbered silver. Simply my impression.  Maybe I should ring up @zadok .  He is the go-to person on everything numismatic.   🤣
 
 

I purchased a $2.50 Liberty Head that after removing it from the 2x2 stapled holder you could see where a loop was attached on the rim. This was a gold-filled stud hole that did not affect the obverse or reverse. But still a problem coin.  I returned the coin for an upgrade to a $5 Liberty Head. I could not keep the coin knowing it was impaired and would never sell for more than melt if the kids ever wanted to sell it.

Just 2 fleeting thoughts...
1.  @powermad5000 :  pray tell, where did you get this fantastical notion that you don't have to explain yourself to anyone?  Tell ya what, we're gonna leave you cuffed to the wall.  When you're ready to talk turkey, give us a holla.
2.  @cladking : I regret to inform you that those of us who remember exactly where we were when Kennedy got shot, had options.  Most of us began collecting from change. Those born post 9/11 are from an alien culture and speak a strange tongue. Absent real coins (you know, with silver and copper, not just copper mascara) in change, they will collect whatever they can get their hands on. Modern is all they've ever known and that's what they're going to collect. Truth be told, I feel sorry for them. So sorry, in fact, that despite the fact the bank teller was  glad the 12 rolls I picked up at a bank that got tired of looking at them with no takers, I took and gave all 120 to young people who had never even known they existed, ancient women trying to eke out an existence collecting recyclables, check-out clerks, migrants (for good luck) and criminals... with a warning:  Listen closely,  Spend it or lose it and bad luck will follow you for the rest of your life.  My collecting days are over.  One -- and I'm done! You can quote me on that.

EXTRA!   EXTRA!   Hear all about it...
My army of fans will be delighted to hear I tore through all my leather-bound calendar/diary/record books and found an entry dated September 30, 2011, and photo entitled, "This gold bar shown here last week in Nanjing, China (yes that Nanjing, formerly known as the infamous site of what has come to be known as the Nanking Massacre 1937) weighs 99.999 kilograms and has a purity of 99.999 percent."
MEMBERSHIP:  Hold on a minute!  What's this weigh in troy ounces and what's this worth in USD?
🐓:  To quote the late, great Oldhoopster:
"Go look it up!" 
(Alright, alright... Hint: as of this writing, just one kilogram of gold is valued at $77,338.17.  You may multiply that figure by 100.)
(I thank our Grandmaster, RWB, for his cooperation in graciously allowing me to keep the Topic active pending release of the upcoming article, and the Moderators for posting the foregoing at their discretion.)
Man, I love this place!  🤣
 

Even if the holed coin was 1 of 1 or 2 known and had significant historical value, numismatic value as well as financial value? You can feel free to send any you don't want that may fit that description to me.

Just hadda remind me it's also been that long since a worthy 🐓 has turned up for my reg. set...     Both nickels are Buffalo-ready!

Since I never use PCGS, I’ll not opine on their NFCish tech. I do use NGC and I have coins with these QR codes. Truthfully, I never bothered with them. I’m not sure what value it adds for me. 

1942-P proof wartime Jefferson five-cent piece, PCGS graded PR 66+. Proofs of this series aren't designated "FS", but if any truly has six full steps, this one does:


Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries.