Langbord-Switt 1933 Double Eagle Case

I suspect that if either were sent back to the government for authentication, they would find a nesting place very near the Eagles.

 

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Both Mr. Christian and NorthKorea are correct. (Wow, I never imagined I'd ever type that!)

a) You are correct. I don't personally know either gentleman, only their writings and/or testimony.

b) I don't doubt that they may have served the hobby admirably. Many people have. Some have awards from national numismatic associations honoring them for such contributions. I happen to be one of them. So what?

c) Blindly accepting the veracity of what anyone says simply because of past service to the hobby is idol worship, not scholarship. I have often openly to their faces challenged published authors for fallacies in their work. I started doing it as a 20-year-old undergrad at Franklin & Marshall in 1975. The author was economically justifying slavery. My old professor who's still around still talks about that occasion. (He thinks I was right. I successfully revealed the flaw in the author's reasoning.) I'm now 61, and time has NOT mellowed my tendency to "speak truth to power". I am on a first name basis with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. I'm Kurt, and he's Your Honor, and always will be. That's not because of him, although I do like him even as just Tom, but the office he holds commands deep respect.

d) My personality type has admirers and detractors, and plenty of each. I frankly don't care. I seek truth, and defer to no man in my search of it.

e) I have a very low opinion of "numismatic expertise". I truly believe only less than 10 living people on the planet truly have it. Clearly Bowers is one. Kagin is another. Most of the rest are very narrow specialists. The VAST majority of people who claim to have it are charlatans. I for certain have started too late to ever hope to have it. That doesn't make the journey any less worth doing.

f) [Mods, looking for a little latitude here.] I have come to believe that the coin hobby is infected with a pernicious widespread belief in some pretty severe "far outside of the mainstream' political beliefs. No, of course not all, but far too many. It is characterized by a certain hostiity to government generally. I find it corrosive, unattractive and harmful, not to leave out hateful. It warps their thinking, frankly, and I wish I could excise (or exorcise?) it from our hobby, really I do. But I can't.

 

So here's my take, having read part but not all of this thread. This seems like a victimless crime, but it was still a crime. Victimless crimes are still illegal. Based on the info, I believe the coins were property of the government from the beginning, and remain so now. I'd LOVE to see them on the marketplace and frankly don't care who puts them there. I just don't want to see them destroyed or hidden away from the hobby.

 

I find Kurt's views on "experts" to be interesting. My spouse has a profession where she is called to give expert testimony in court in civil cases. And each and every time she goes to court she has to present her credentials to be qualified as an expert witness (one who is allowed to give professional opinions).

So I've learned to be careful who I annoint with the title of "expert" -- in coins or otherwise.

 

Amen, I've personally seen a reputed expert rejected by a judge and prevented from giving an opinion. You should have seen the color that guy's face turned. I was waiting for him to actually explode. BLAM!

 

.......

Kurt , the latitude is any within the rules no more. It doesn't matter if anyone says " I have come to believe or any other disclaimer, if the mods feel it is political, or is continuing the slap-slap fights among members, there will be time outs,maybe permanent, and past forum history can play a part. All should remember not to get so taken up with a particular subject they can not just "Let it GO!", as, "Oh My Gosh", their anonymous persona will be personally damaged for life if they don't respond and defend it.

 

Fair 'nuff, Jim. But honestly, I still struggle with knowing with any reasonableness precisely where the line is. My detection is that your line is a wee bit different from some other mods. Here's my question: How is paragraph f) above? Pretty safe? Dancing up to the line? Over it? What? This is a teachable moment.

I find the lack of transparency as to the thought process a little troubling.

 

As I wrote above, I think it's possible to not destroy them, not hide them away, yet not put them in the "marketplace" per se, a thing for which I do not have as much reverence as some do. I find the "marketplace" a very overrated thing.

 

I think any museum would be happy to have such a coin as a showpiece... selling them wouldn't make sense as they weren't issued and are illegal to own, right? Destroying them would be a shame, but I guess that's not up to us coin collectors.

 

I'm guessing (and that's all this is) that this decision will be made at the Secretary of the Treasury level. Frankly, that's the level I'd most trust to weigh all the varying interests.

 

http://www.numismaticnews.net/buzz/...tm_content=868229_NMNF160805&utm_medium=email

 

These coins seem pretty popular. I am sure the mint has the original dies somewhere, so why not strike another 10,000 of them. The could sell them to collectors as genuine US Mint coins dated 1933. Then they could chuck the ones they have in with all the others, and all the collectors could have a 1 in 1000 chance that the coin they buy was actually struck in 1933, and that no one will ever know if it was or not.

This is a radical solution, but a lot more fun than just locking away the 1933 coins, and the mint could make some money. Collectors are all mad anyway.

 

Fair Question. Yes, each mod has a different level as all are human. We do follow the lead on the rules which are Doug and Peter. Not all mods are based in US, some are foreign based, and some are not on land most of the time, but our minds are with the forum. You read Doug's post above. The level of snarkiness and petty animosities are taking away from the purpose that Peter and Doug intends. NOT a political forum, Not a religion forum, Not a world event forum~ That is why Peter set up partisanlines.com and banned such on this forum.

Paragraph (f) is why I commented. Read Doug's post again. If someone posts badly indicating you are proposing the concepts of one political party over the other(s), and a Bruhaha gets started, ALL of you will be sanctioned, including you as the originator, and you know what you are doing...its your professed expertise area. I may well share your opinion, or not, but you won't see me putting it on this site, I am not that gullible. Neither are you, but many who read your posts may be. I do not believe you are a one trick person, so drop the political angles and the comments and stick with coins as there may be many coin forums, but none as good as this one. With respect, Jim

 

I've always thought this was so stupid, just let the family have the damn things.

 

Let me confirm that last bit for you. I don't know why, I haven't given it enough introspection yet, but both NGC's and PCGS's forums leave me constantly wanting to get away from there. I know one reason - I find their software really non-intuitive, but it's more than that. I find the average sense of humor here much more entertaining. The other ones get so "badly need to get over their bad selves", y'know?

Having fun, and occasionally "pushing the envelope" to the extent of a getting a gentle warning is what makes CoinTalk so entertaining. Getting the hang of the rules DOES require a learning curve. We both know I went pretty banzai about a year ago. Had a long talk with the mirror. "Lighten up." Good advice to spread generally.

Thanks greatly.

Respect back atcha

Kurt

 

and do not criticize people for having bad grammar. it makes you look bad. [edited]
you are not perfect either. this is a coin forum not a english classroom. do not like me ? ignore me. I do not care. let's keep it about coins. + in the 3 years since I have joined CT you are thee only 1 to have ever criticize my grammar. so go back to your government sized small cubicle and "mind your own business".

 

"No matter, Berke has reached a status akin to a numismatic super hero.". I sure hope this is not right. Someone representing thieves trying to keep their stolen goods is someone I would never look up to.

 

I agree, the people of the United States own theses coins, not some thief that stole them and put them away to be found at a later date in time ....

Which was the thief, Family .........

 

There are two other threads where this topic already has been beaten half to death.

 

Yeah CT seems to not care about multiple threads on a single subject. Kind of rediculous if you ask me. I say delete em all except kurts since he was the first