Topic: mini test

[Birdman]

amazing collection. just curious why you blacked out the numbers? i have seen others do this sometimes, but am unclear what the reason is. congratulations on this fantastic collection!

I black them out to deter some bozo counterfeiter from using an NGC certification number for one of my coins to make a fake slab.  Perhaps I am paranoid, but I don't want that headache of having known fake slabs with a NGC certification number that matches my legitimate coins.

[paul4444]

I love it way cool.  It's amazing how different experiences drive us to reach unforeseen goals. Thanks man

[KeepOnTrying!]

I black them out to deter some bozo counterfeiter from using an NGC certification number for one of my coins to make a fake slab.  Perhaps I am paranoid, but I don't want that headache of having known fake slabs with a NGC certification number that matches my legitimate coins.

You are not paranoid for opacifying slab numbers and bar codes. I do it myself whenever I remember. It is clear that fakers are already using harvested slab numbers for their fake products. But coin sales sites such as eBay and TPGs like NGC/PCGS could be more readily available resources for the fakers.

More concerning for me is the loss of privacy which could result in questionable to outright nefarious use of such information including tracking. Precious metal collection has privacy as an inherent characteristic; protecting you from shady characters and institutional "shakedown artists"!

Once more, Congratulations and Great Job!

[NBM]

Bravo, quite an accomplishment!

[Birdman]

I will be torn between looking for coins and looking for birds (among other things) during my upcoming first trip to China.

[jc888888888]

cool enjoy !

[KeepOnTrying!]

I will be torn between looking for coins and looking for birds (among other things) during my upcoming first trip to China.

You must visit some of the Chinese classical gardens. Do some endurance training and climb the Great Wall. It will be a great idea to visit one of the mints. Post Live Photos. Yes, you can also watch the Birds and buy some coins!

[dynamike51]

I'll share this, as it will be a long time before I reach a milestone of similar significance.    

I hesitate to calculate the time I spent researching the coins, finding examples that were priced favorably, negotiating, etc.  I'll just take this photo and go home and pour a glass of wine 

    

[Birdman]

You must visit some of the Chinese classical gardens. Do some endurance training and climb the Great Wall. It will be a great idea to visit one of the mints. Post Live Photos.

Here is a photo of a garden from yesterday's visit to the Forbidden City.  Our tour goes to the Great Wall today.  The car in the parking lot of the hotel is an example of big money displays.  Our tour guide bought an apartment for $80k years ago and then sold it for $800k.  He has two other apartments.  A tour guide! 

A 1500 sq ft home that we visited yesterday seemed like nothing special, but they said it was worth $2.5 million?!

I still haven't had time to find a coin shop during business hours.  :)

[Birdman]

I couldn't post both photos because of size too big...

Nice car from hotel parking lot! 

[KeepOnTrying!]

Here is a photo of a garden from yesterday's visit to the Forbidden City.  Our tour goes to the Great Wall today.  The car in the parking lot of the hotel is an example of big money displays.  Our tour guide bought an apartment for $80k years ago and then sold it for $800k.  He has two other apartments.  A tour guide! 

A 1500 sq ft home that we visited yesterday seemed like nothing special, but they said it was worth $2.5 million?!

I still haven't had time to find a coin shop during business hours.  :)

From my little experience I believe that some tour guides are very enterprising and provide value added services to tourists that earn them extra income including heavy tipping by happy tourists. But mine may be a simplistic explanation.

Depending on which part of the Wall you climb be ready to make frequent stops and feel free sitting on the steps from time to time to catch your breath. Don't give up; you can do it!

[Birdman]

I asked my tour guide about the coin shops.  He's going to do a little research to see if there are any near the places we'll be staying for the rest of our travels in China.  Interestingly, I showed him some photos of the gold pandas and he had never heard of them.  That one anecdote suggests that awareness of gold pandas is low in China.  He was very interested to learn that they were made of .999? gold, that they had 5 denominations for each year, and that the design changes each year.  Considering he recently sold his $800,000 apartment, perhaps I've given him an idea of an alternative investment  . He said he didn't want to touch the Chinese stock market because it is so volatile and manipulated.

[fwang2450]

There are no street corner coin shops in China. Dealers stay in one place. Madian (马甸) is where they are mostly located in Beijing. You can give this link to your tour guide: http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=_iOR0IJDZ_g8nD9fr0aHSPY3cn3sFlVpoXmj6u74yInS9gr6FJ0fh2oKP9NiK4SzOHfvxkRv68s3Q9GvuIjlgq

[Birdman]

There are no street corner coin shops in China. Dealers stay in one place. Madian (马甸) is where they are mostly located in Beijing. You can give this link to your tour guide: http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=_iOR0IJDZ_g8nD9fr0aHSPY3cn3sFlVpoXmj6u74yInS9gr6FJ0fh2oKP9NiK4SzOHfvxkRv68s3Q9GvuIjlgq

Thanks, but our group left Beijing before I could visit the shops.  Not much free time, but it is a great experience.  I think I'll have an unscheduled afternoon when we are in Shanghai.  That may be my best chance to see a good coin market.  I may also have some free time in Chengdu, if there is a coin market worth visiting.  Do you have a similar link I could show my tour guide for either of those two cities? 

We traveled between Lhasa and Xian today.  Wow, the number of apartment buildings being constructed is astounding.  I had heard about the building bubble in China, of course, but to actually see it makes quite an impression.  It makes you shake your head in disbelief when you see the innumerable construction cranes as you drive around the city.

[KeepOnTrying!]

Have you done any of those journeys on the high speed train? Wonderful experience!

I don't know if your tour group itinerary includes visits to the Yuyuan (Yu Garden) in Shanghai and the Mountain Resort Garden in Chengde.

Some of our prominent MCC sellers reside in the cities you may be traveling through such as Xu, Lucky, Dragon and thincat00. I am sure they would be chaughed for the "CCF Birdman" to drop in for a visit to their shop! Alternatively they may be able to point you to some local shops in the cities you are passing through. Beware of fakes if buying from unknown sellers; look your tour guides in the eyes and tell them you don't want fakes! 

We need more photos!