OK, just read a story on Armando...seems he is a famous "star", record setting racing bird from Belgium. In the closing hours, the bids went from $600K to $1.4 million, with 2 bidders in China battling it out. The breeder who sold Armando sold 178 birds in the auction for a total of almost $2million!!! So there's another thing many of us were not aware of...bird racing is apparently a big thing in some parts!
Actually there should be a third option: The Great Panzerman collection!!! You got to admit it's an awesome collection! Wait, maybe 1+ million isn't enough...? :/
I was wondering if the pigeon sale was a Far Eastern thing. Actually, I also sorta thought Middle Eastern, like Dubai.
Ask the people over at PigeonTalk which one they would rather have..... https://www.pigeons.biz/forums/
Challenge accepted. Edit- never mind. Ha- their mods apparently zapped my OT thread. Oh well. I posted some pix of coins with birds on 'em, even. Wasn't trolling or making fun of them or anything. Silly bird people. Strangely, I saw nothing about Armando on their forums.
Armando is like an annuity (think racehorses). He can produce Armando Jrs that also have value. The Armando Jrs can produce Armando IIIs, etc. Get enough Armandos and you can have all the Annes you want.
But, Armando can always get the birdflu or other serious diseases. He could get picked off by a peregrine falcon, get eaten by slyvester the cat That MS-62 Vigo AV 5 Guineas will stay prestine forever, and gain in value with ageing. Since it is slabbed that is a sure thing. Queen Anne is definately a safer long term investment. Even though she was not a "looker" I still would get more satisfaction admiring that coin, then Armando in his coop.
John, Your points are well taken & I'm in your camp as to what to choose. I've been a bird fancier all my life & that's what led me to make this silly comparison . Lets face it, Armando is a handsome pigeon & valuable commodity, but a very fragile creature, as you point out. Armando was greatly over valued as PlanoSteve pointed out. You could only keep & race Armando safely in certain locations of the world. I had to chuckle reading your comment about peregrine falcons . Where I live in upstate NY we have many different birds of prey, including peregrine falcons that breed in downtown Rochester ! That leads me to an interesting story I must share. Years ago when we had an unusually brutal winter & many starlings would take refuge in a row of hedges near my garage . Several times a week I noticed the bloody remains of starlings near the base of the hedges & thought an alley cat was snacking there , see photos below. However, one morning while peeking out of my bedroom window, I noticed a peregrine falcon with a starling in his grip plucking the feathers of the starling . I rushed for my camera & when I opened my side door the falcon took off with the remains of the starling in his talons. I managed to get a photo of the falcon in flight .