"I heard you placed an order for a Top Pop Gold Rooster! 1 1

[Henri Charriere]

I did. About 3:40 am, I heard a chirp, and wondered who it might be. Turns out it was a text from a gentlemen I was acquainted with from yet another prominent French firm inquiring as to whether I was still interested in the coins on the "wish list" I submitted routinely earlier this year -- because he had the rarest one which he marked sold, but held aside until he heard from me first. You know, me, the schlmiel z's perpetually sad about.  But that's not why I write.

What I want to know is what is a coin's value to you? Is it its list price? The original price you may have haggled down outright or with a trade?  What about the bribes I paid that lady who subsequently lost her job? (I absolutely NEVER told her to do it, but if three tough ones show up and the firm announces her replacement, it suggests tomfoolery.) What about the $33 CBP extorted from me? What about sales tax? Registration? Shipping costs? Insurance? What about that '53 Chevy Corvette my brother had up on blocks for 10 years in his Secret ultimately unfulfilled Life of Walter Mitty?

If I write down I paid X number of €uros for a coin on the West Coast's Set Registry, it's scrubbed. (Kind o' makes you wonder who the Registry's for, you or them?) Wampum? Barter? Fuggettaboutit! USD only, or you're told to leave it blank.

So what's your story, Maury? Give it to us straight and don't try hedging on that Buyer's Premium!  Every coin, and every man, has his price?  What's yours?

Edited July 21 by Henri Charriere
Correct title; add closing parenthesis.

[ldhair]

On 7/19/2024 at 5:54 PM, Henri Charriere said:

What I want to know is what is a coin's value to you?

For me it's what I agree to pay. If I pay stupid money for something special, that's the value I put on the coin. With some coins you don't get a second chance. Sometimes I pay too much but I can live with that. Never got into this hobby to make money. 

 

[Henri Charriere]

On 7/20/2024 at 7:10 PM, ldhair said:

.... Sometimes I pay too much but I can live with that....

Me too, but that's because the sand in my hourglass is running out.  I don't have time, but Theia, the goddess of gold, silver, etc. (in Greek mythology) came to my rescue. Any stupid money I paid, is now history.

Off the top of your head, how much should a 1913 Fr20FrcGR in MS-67 cost?  The pop, here and over "there," is 1/1. Don't know? Neither do I. No problem until it  becomes a problem. Let me explain...

I get a text from someone I haven't written to in years. He asks me if my Want List (Wish List, in Fr.) has changed. I wrote him, No... but didn't bother to read the rest of the message. He's got a 1913!  It's Friday. About 3 p.m.  In Paris, it's 9 p.m. I write back, "Yes, I am interested." (He marked it sold and took it off the web until he heard from me first.)  Here's where things get complicated. Global outage. My bank cannot help me. (Western Union put me on their No Fly list the last time I tried to send a bunch of cash thru.) PayPal is not an approved method of payment so I did what I'd done last month. The price with shipping came out to under 800 €uros (when you figure in conversion fees for USD to €) and I did what you would have done:   I stuffed nine crisp Benjamins into a greeting card marked Personal & Confidential (in French) addressed it to the man I texted to, affixed two Inverted Jenny's [another member recently advised were practically worthless] marched over to the Post Office, first thing Saturday morning, slipped it thru the bullet-proof concave tray and told the clerk, "I betcha don' know what dese are!"  She threw it on a scale, turned to me and said dryly: "They're Inverted Jenny's -- and you're over by a dollar."  I said, "Great!" and bought two sheets of "Forever" stamps, for good measure.

I know what you're thinking... what about all the other stuff?  (I know you gotta go back to monitor developments on your FTL thread, so I'll make this quick.) If you send cash thru the mails, the last thing you want to do is draw attention. Who registers or insures or certifies Greeting Cards with tracking numbers?  Nobody I know.  But aren't you taking a chance? Of course! But I am minimizing risk... it  looks  like  what  it's  supposed  to:  a  Greeting  Card. Simple. I will know in a week or so if Murphy's Law is still in effect or has since been repealed.

(Posted at the discretion of Moderation which reserves the right to delete it at a later date.)

Edited July 21 by Henri Charriere
Note to Mods.

[Zebo]

They do have forever global stamps. Sending cash through the mail isn’t the best, but when in a bind…

 

[RWB]

Since registry sets and other such things are entirely relative, there is no such thing a a true "Top Pop" anything -- except maybe root beer pop.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 7/20/2024 at 7:10 PM, ldhair said:

For me it's what I agree to pay. If I pay stupid money for something special, that's the value I put on the coin. With some coins you don't get a second chance. Sometimes I pay too much but I can live with that. Never got into this hobby to make money. 

If something like a rare Rooster rarely comes up, then sort of like on a smaller scale of buying the 1933 Double Eagle, you have to pay up.

Also, the coins may trade more actively overseas on obscure websites...dealer to dealer....or from people who know one another.  With HC not being in a position to reach those folks from Manhattan, paying up with his network of contacts is a viable solution.

[Henri Charriere]

On 7/21/2024 at 1:19 PM, RWB said:

Since registry sets and other such things are entirely relative, there is no such thing a a true "Top Pop" anything -- except maybe root beer pop.

That's all I needed... a call/text I had been waiting 3 years for, coming on the cusp of a weekend amid a global tech outage. Cash was NOT an approved option and I don't happen to have a bunch of €uros lying around. What a mess!

And you're right. Like history, a Top Pop is tentative. You start a set, complete a set, move on to upgrades and, like that TZ classic, "Requiem for a Heavyweight," you beat the champion at pool, you're on the top of the world... and then all the contenders come out of the woodwork to challenge you for the title. And if you successfully defeat all comers, another collector lays you low with a single Top Pop and whether he chooses to remain in the race, or retire, is his call to make.  🐓 

[Henri Charriere]

On 7/21/2024 at 4:52 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

If something like a rare Rooster rarely comes up, then sort of like on a smaller scale of buying the 1933 Double Eagle, you have to pay up....

 ....With HC not being in a position to reach those folks from Manhattan, paying up with his network of contacts is a viable solution.

Promise to keep this a secret? Good! The truth is when P-you-know-what demolished my West coast registry set, I gave up.  I was never notified. I found out about it inadvertently weeks later. But I had invested so much time and money and cultivated so many contacts here and overseas, I couldn't abide becoming # 4, lying down.  I acquired the unique, undated, unlisted pattern to crown the collection -- even though there is no slot for it on any registry.  Heck, it's not even in the French Red Book!  But I get ahead of myself here. A source knowing how much the coin(s) I needed meant to me, held one for me off-site until he heard from me. I texted, "Definitely!," only to find out bank wire transfers, Western Union, were inoperable and USPS money orders are for domestic use only. That left hard cash. I figure it'll get there ($900.) this week. And if it doesn't, well I tried. And unlike a lot of members who disappear rather than admit their error was nothing of the kind, I will announce publicly on this thread my "greeting card" graced with two Inverted Jenny's, did not make it. Word up!      

[RWB]

I'll have a root beer float in a tall glass, please. Here's my dime.

[VKurtB]

On 7/21/2024 at 12:19 PM, RWB said:

Since registry sets and other such things are entirely relative, there is no such thing a a true "Top Pop" anything -- except maybe root beer pop.

Good old Hires Root Beer. I miss it. Alabama’s old school soft drinks kinda suck. 

Edited July 27 by VKurtB

[GoldFinger1969]

Is Hires still around ?  No ?