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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cpm9ball, post: 1176075, member: 24633&quot;]Sometime in mid-2005, NGC changed their policy and would allow only dealers to make appointments to pick up and deliver their submissions in person at the office in Sarasota. Prior to that, even collectors were allowed to make appointments. Since I only lived 1-1/2 hours away, I used to take advantage of it and bring my Mom along with me. She was in her 80&#039;s, but she always enjoyed the drive, and we would make it a point to stop at one of the Cracker Barrel restaurants that were scattered along I-75 on the return trip home.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>On one such day when we made the trip to Sarasota, the NGC reception room was pretty hectic. There were three small private rooms adjacent to the reception area that were used for customers to check their submissions both prior to delivery or upon pick-up. These rooms were only about 8&#039;x8&#039;, and on this particular day, the &quot;suits&quot; from Odyssey Marine were there to take delivery of the gold and silver coins from the SS Republic shipwreck. The room was too small for everyone, so the door was left open and some of the NGC staff was standing outside looking in as everything was checked. It was amazing! Stacked about 2&#039; high on the floor inside the room, were shipping boxes with probably $100 million in gold and silver coins.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I realized that it was going to be a while before things would settle down to allow me to turn in my submission, so Mom and I stepped outside while I had a cigarette. As it happened, the head of NGC security was also having a cigarette, and he proceeded to tell us (even though I already figured it out) what was taking place. I mentioned that I would have loved to have been able to just hold some of those slabs in my hand for no other reason than because of the history that went along with them.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Naturally, that would have been impossible, but he asked us if we would like to see some of the other artifacts as they were being conserved. We were led through a secure entrance of the receiving dock into a fairly large room that was filled with artifacts from the SS Republic in various stages of conservation. There were small glass bottles that were used for medicines, all sorts of china, glassware, silverware, leather shoes, tools used by the ship&#039;s carpenter, even brass portholes with the glass intact, but there was one item suspended in a barrel of solution which just made my jaw drop. It was the ship&#039;s bell, nearly completely restored, and very clearly you could read the name -<b> USS TENNESSEE</b> - around the upper perimeter. I felt a shiver run up and down my spine. I&#039;ll never forget that day!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Chris[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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