Henri Charriere

To: N. N. A little assessment from the street...you ain' no neophyte... that's a bit played out now. You were, however, smart enough to know the difference between a shiesty (note correct spelling; also spelt sheisty, and shyster which still carries a pejorative connotation. And your crowning achievement was being savvy enough to focus on a coin series few collectors, including myself, were barely aware of. I truly regret our fellow member missed the whole point of making a user name change and chose something that will only marginalize him further. He's a neophyte sho 'nuf, sho 'nuf. Plenty of time to learn the ropes.

If an obituary or epitaph were written for philately, I never came across one. Surely someone in that field of endeavor must have foreseen the future and assessed it as bleak. I wonder what tools they employed to gauge the health of the hobby? Deltiology, too. How does one define the beginnings of a precipitous decline or sudden invigoration of a hobby? It would be interesting to review what the doomsday prophets foresaw as regarding those now low-profile pursuits. Not surprisingly, "Debbie downers" are not encouraged to provide the proof true hobbyists would demand. Coin collection, and it's related offshoots, has changed and I would argue in some ways for the better. Others may feel abandoned. There are a number of collectors here who have self-reported an aversion to formal grading. My question to those of my esteemed colleagues is, Fine, you have mastered the art of the grading. Problem is, those who engage in this religious practice have also indicated they have no inclination to sell. Malheureusement, without hard facts gleaned from bona-fide sales, how would one be able to distinguish whether self-appraised coins [where allowed] have performed as well, or better, than those that have been formally certified and enshrined in plastic? The recurrent refrain is those perilous waters will be left to to their heirs to navigate.

I object! The word "NOT" is of a different font and appears to have been shoe-horned in as an afterthought. And, if "not" a one-cent piece, what is it? I feel this "token" was intentionally posted to inadvertently expose me as the rank amateur I never disputed I am. Just Bob's carom shot? Who knows? 🤣

So my, get this, Google account was suspended. From precisely 12:23:23 - 0500 on Sunday, April 21. Reason: "Someone may have used your Account to send out a lot of junk messages or done something else that violates the Google Service Agreement." "Click button for your detailed security check for further instructions." So, I did. Up popped up an advertisement from topantivirustech.com with an excruciatingly detailed narrative on five or six of the top anti-viral apps, each with their own overall rating on a 1 to 10 scale, with already discounted prices ranging from US$ 29.00 to a mind-boggling US$ 199.99 (save 29%) all presumably annual subscriptions. (Each was equipped with a button to access their website, apparently all based abroad, which I declined to click on.) There was another button to click, "Learn more." So I did (after backing out of the "detailed security check,") and again up popped up the same ad. There was yet another button to click, "sign out," and up popped up that same, by now famliar, ad... and the nature of this anti-spam scam became apparent to me. I confess to you, gentle reader, that I have committed an offense by omission! Meaning, I have withheld a critical fact: IT WAS I WHO WAS THE CULPRIT!!! When the volume of spam I get balloons, I stop deleting, and time allowing, FORWARD this never-ending stream of Basura (garbage) Back to Sender. To innocent overtures like, "Hi, how are you?" I reply, "To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" If this quickly descends into inappropriate sexual content, forgive me, I respond with vicious vitriol peppered with salty language. Long story short: I give 'em a taste of their own medicine and when I receive a clueless response replete with phrases featuring flat affect, I issue my ultimatum: Kindly furnish me with your full legal name, DOB, SSN, street address, phone numbers, etc. There are members on this Forum who have counseled us from time-to-time on the correct tack to take on such matters. Problem is, I delete and delete until I summon up the nerve to take matters into my own hands. Anyone remember Kurt's classic reply to my comment urging him to "Be Nice" (per Guideline rules)? Briefly, he said, in substance: "You do you; I'll do me." 🤣 TAKEAWAY: GOOGLE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO GRANT SCAMSTERS (my word) UNFETTERED ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNT, AND IF YOU ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS THE HARRASSMENT INDEPENDENTLY, YOU WILL SUFFER A LAPSE IN SERVICE UNDER THE GUISE OF AN APPARENT VIOLATION OF THEIR SERVICE AGREEMENT. Clever, huh? Pretty impressive racket. If you have experienced a similar ominous, inexplicable interruption of service due to an apparent "agreement violation," from Google, or anyone else, feel free to share it here. For those who may be curious as to what "may" happen should an insane thought like clearing your cache and cookies enters your mind, tarry not. I will tell you: you will [virtually] cease to exist, analogous to repeating all your years of formal schooling. It's A Hard Knock Life. (Posted at the sole discretion of NGC Moderation which may delete for cause, or no reason at all. I am okay with that.)

I know it's against the Guideline rules, but I believe it safe to say observant members of the Jewish persuasion are all off the various forums now. I wish them all Pesach Sameach (Happy Passover). Now, to the pressing matter at hand: NN's stern admonition notwithstanding, anyone offering to sell you a Gold Sunken Pirate Ship Debloon (misspelled that way on this thread more than once, so Not a typo) is someone you ought to run away from as fast as you can. My bill for that legal advice will be in the mail shortly. 🤣 I have NEVER seen accrue spelt acrew, in any language. Spot gold is up in fits and starts. My feeling as a certified rank amateur with little or no real knowledge of precious metals' trends is all gold should rise proportionately but member z, who knows a thing or two about gold, has previously said (and I am constrained to agree) that spot gold affects bullion gold more so than pieces with numismatic value. For example, the gentleman who owns the '33 D/E may be aware of general gold trends, but when you are talking about a unique piece whose last gavel price was in the millions, spot gold is not a critical consideration if it is one at all. Incidentally, owing to Chat Board Guidelines and other considerations, I do not believe anyone would be inclined to give you the advice you seek, with or without a legal disclaimer. I am afraid the membership was instinctively right in chastising me for validating and enabling your conduct. It is not only prohibited conduct, but bad form. I now regret the transgression. And I apologize to those learned members for their wise counsel.

Evidently, W.C., for whom I have the highest regard, irrespective of any perceived differences of opinion, didn't get that memo. On the four-letter Set Registry [you forbid me to spell out or refer to in acronymical form] the entire French 20-Francs line (all 11, including the gold roosters) is listed under the decimalisation heading. I cannot say for sure, but I believe the respective TPGSs' refusal to allow commingling of World Gold slabs on either site stems from a dispute over how such coins are listed. To NGC's credit, the Set Registry is ultra user-friendly breaking everything down to basics. An analogy would be one side's use of common generic terms while the other insists on using the formal Latin (scientific) name. Bad analogy but you get the drift.

Garrett Brock Trapnell was the undisputed King of the NGI plea -- until he no longer was... Malheureusement -- and I apologize to those members who've endured this soliloquy before -- I am obliged to defend, with my life, your constitutional right to express your thoughts within the framework of the Board Guidelines.... (quick, somebody kindly provide z with that elusive retching emoji)... you did an admirable job on the Beach during spring break and, who knows, you may yet surprise everyone here with one of the finest comebacks the likes of which have never before been seen here. I wish you the best of luck... Welcome to the Big Leagues, camp man! (Posted at the sole discretion of NGC Moderation)

Looks like another user name change may be in order.... let's consider the possibilities... I am going to refer to you [privately, of course] as MartyrTm, a play on martyrdom. I am afraid redrum just doesn't cut it and 69 is too reminiscent of tekashi69. Tm? No, not ™️, but Thulium, a silvery-white rare earth metal, atomic # 69 on the Periodic Table, or Tm for short. Anyway, short of yelling, "Rewrite!" you can always remake or reinvent yourself with a new name and a fresh approach. I did it and, as I am fond of reminding my many detractors... STILL HERE, STILL STANDING, STILL STRONG! To my brethren on the Forum: I have been accused of reckless rumination, but indiscriminate urination? NEVER! To the member who was kind enough to write to me and say I was "a great man," I guess you understand me better than most. 🐓

...Operative words: "unsolicited comments"... One Key victory of note: my greatest fan read every word of what I'd written and, in true gentlemanly fashion, ditched the overused emoji, and dignified my comment with a formal reply. What a mensch! Man, I love this place! Pesach sameach!

Thank you Zebo, for your never-ending quest to broaden the "body of knowledge."

🐓: Hey, Q! A public service announcement from Zebo! Q.A.: I see. Only one problem. 🐓 : What? Q.A. It makes note of "the modern issue era." We got jumped by JB, VKB and the Powerhouse guy on that redrum thread's. Now Zebo is gonna get jumped by World Colonial. It"s too early in the morning for a rumble in the jungle.

🐓 : Looks like we've been overruled, Q. Q.A.: No violation of law. No technical violation of the guidelines. No different from one gentleman asking his wife, "Do you like this paisley tie or the striped one better?" FULL STOP!!! But wait, what did he do? And it turns out, nothing at all. They just don't like the guy's User Name! As Dean Martin used to say, "Ain't that a kick in the head?" What makes this tougher is you've got the Nice guy AND the guy who'd rather be Right than Nice weighing in. And Dena watching it all like a hawk! It's a NO-WIN. 🐓: Say Q,... strictly off the record... which is a better buy... Ancients or Vault Protectors?

It gives me great pleasure to confirm the user handle assigned to me by eBay, "ayto-3564," depending on how you wish to regard it, has been retired or undergone a metamorphosis to "Francois Villon" [FV]. As a practical matter, this means the # 1 ranked French 20-francs gold rooster set on the West coast Set Registry has a "new owner." (As an aside, it also means, if long-standing custom continues, my most devoted and faithful follower shall soon regale the membership with a genealogical background check on who this rascal was, when he lived and how he died. I absolutely, positively shall not vociferously deny any sludge he manages to dredge up.) Man, I love this place! 🤣 Postscript: the Gold Spot Price of the F20FR GR as of Fri. April 19, 2024 is: $446.72. (nota bene: this Topic and thread is posted at the sole discretion of NGC Chat Board moderation.)

Re: "Dealer vs Member Grading" (current topic posted by dccbar on this Forum) 1- Having never attended a live auction, I am ill-equipped to characterize the pregnant pauses seen in this one as being out of the ordinary. My televised experiences suggest they are fast-moving and do not pause for bids. Maybe I am mistaken. (Member @VKurtB would be eminently qualified to comment on this aspect.) 2- Sotheby's... cautionary tale here. There are those of us old enough to remember the muted coverage of the Sotheby's-Christie's price-fixing scandal which resulted in the once-chairman of Sotheby's auction house, Adolphus Alfred Taubman, then 79, businessman, inventor and philanthropist convicted on a plea of guilty and sentenced to one year in a Federal prison and a fine of $7-1/2 million serving his time, uneventfully, as inmate 50444-054 at the FMC in Rochester, MN. He died at age 91; he would have been 100 today had he lived.

I had wanted to comment on this video but as it does not directly relate to the OP's topic I am posting my observations on the more appropriate "Unsolicited Comments" thread.