BiggAndyy the Magazine

While trying to decide on what to post about on Numismatic Monday I thought, “Why not post about my two favorite pastimes in one article?”

After congratulating myself on such an excellent idea I was left with the dilemma of what exactly to write about. I did not do any shooting this weekend (I went to a Bible Teaching conference near Hagerstown, MD). I certainly don’t want to complain about the price of 7.62 ammo, that is like shooting fish in a barrel, everyone is complaining about the lack of availability and ever increasing price of 7.62×39 ammo.

Just then old_painless and his website The Box ‘O Truth came to mind and remembered that he tested an age old tale of shooting dimes from a 12 gauge shotgun as a self defense load. Well, old_painless just can’t resist shooting things out of a 12 gauge that aren’t really supposed to be shot, so away he went. And his buddy, Tman, took pictures for all of us to see.

You can see the entire day’s shooting at old_painless’s website, the boxotruth.com or you can follow this link to see the dime question answered.

From www.pcgs.com

(Newport Beach, California) — Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, California (www.PCGS.com) is offering a $10,000 reward for the first person who submits for verification a genuine, Sacagawea golden dollar coin mistakenly struck with the edge lettering intended for the new Presidential dollar coins.

The coins depicting Native American, Sacagawea, who assisted Lewis and Clark on their exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, are supposed to have smooth, plain edges. The new Presidential dollars have incuse edge lettering that includes the year of minting and the mottos, In God We Trust and E Pluribus Unum.

“Even with the Mint taking steps to carefully produce coins, valuable errors like these could happen. We’ve already seen, certified and graded some Presidential dollars that have no lettering on the edge,” said Ron Guth, PCGS President.

“The United States Mint is still making the plain-edged Sacagawea dollars while also striking literally hundreds of millions of the Presidential coins. Sooner or later, we believe a Sacagawea coin will be erroneously made with lettering on the edge, or will be over-struck with the both the Sacagawea and Presidential designs on the same coin. We’ll pay $10,000 just to be the first to authenticate them.

PCGS also is offering a $2,500 finder’s reward for the first blank Presidential dollar it receives where there is only the edge lettering but no design on the front or back.

“It’s possible that a planchet intended for a Presidential dollar might only get struck for the lettering around the edge, and not go through the earlier ‘heads and tails’ part of the minting process,” explained Guth.

“We’re asking the public, collectors and dealers to carefully look at their money. You could find a fortune in your pocket change if it’s the ‘right’ dollar that’s been made wrong.”

That is a hefty reward for something that can only theoretically exist. But with the thousands of errors already reported with the new Washington Presidential Dollar being only months old the likelihood of such on error existing is very good.

Presidential Dollars by the stack are found without edge lettering.

Technically this error would be called a “mule”, a single planchet struck with dies intended for different coins. While the obverse and reverse would be for the Sacagawea, the incuse lettering would be made by the machinery for the Presidential Dollars.

So I am channel surfing the television this evening and I come across LOST on ABC. I don’t follow the show but I will usually stop and look for a moment or two just to see what new world appliance or convenience they find on that deserted island this week.

Well this time the surprise is a Chinese spike bayonet SKS. I am thinking, whoa! An SKS on television, I will have to stay tuned in for a bit to see if they have it fire off in fully automatic fashion and blow through 50 or 60 rounds of ammo before the guy looks at it in disgust and thrown it to the ground as if it will no longer shoot bullets at all ever.

Well, I did not get very far until they had the guy carrying it (Naveen Andrews) stumble upon a cow… on a desert island. Ok, I don’t follow the show so there is probably an explanation in the storyline somehow, but I don’t care, I’m watching to see what the guy with the SKS does.

He sees the cow and steps gingerly towards it and brings the SKS up to his chest and there is heard a chuck-chuck cocking sound. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The sound guy puts the sound of a lever action rifle cocking for the SKS; a bolt action carbine that would sound more like caaa-lunk.

Guys, it isn’t hard to get these things right! SKS’s are the cheapest and most available semi-automatic rifles in the United States, SOMEONE on the payroll must know someone who belongs to a shooting range. Yes, even though it is Commiefornia and all that. It just looks bad (in this case sounds bad) when something so simple is gotten so wrong.

This is a bit of a departure of late since I have been drinking mostly single malt offerings, but the Johnnie Walker 12 Year Old Blended Malt Scotch sort of fell onto my lap so I HAD to give it a try and then talk about it.

From the outset many whisky connoisseurs, with much more discriminating pallets than mine, consider blended malt scotches to be of inferior quality to the single malt scotch. In terms of flavor and color and aroma a blended malt scotch is supposed to be wanting in all those categories.

I won’t go so far as the disparage a scotch merely because it is a single malt or a blended scotch. I will judge based on color and aroma and especially flavor. If it doesn’t taste good then I will come down hard on a scotch. Johnnie Walker 12 Year Old Blended Malt Scotch is not an offering to come down hard on at all.

A rich Pale Gold in color, the Johnnie Walker 12 Year Old, dressed in it’s diagonal black striped label, LOOKS the part of a rich bodied and potent spirit. The aroma, however, betrays a hint of the blended nature of the scotch with a less than expected punch.

I was fully expecting a strong initial attack and a gradual strengthening of the floral bouquet on second nosing and dilution with some water. But straight from the bottle the scotch was rather subdued and easy going, a fruity aroma with a strong background of caramel. Even with a strong inhale I was not able to coax out any extra strength.

A few swirls in the glass and I dove right in, full strength. A good choice! I like a nice strong attack right at the outset, lets me know I am drinking scotch. A few swishes around the pallet and I down the first mouthful. I pause to consider the aftertaste.

For such a strong initial burst the aftertaste is quite mild, almost timid in comparison. If I had to I would point towards a McClelland’s Lowland Single Malt for a comparable finish. Not harsh or overwhelming, but also not inspiring either. I wondered if a bit of water would release a bit more aroma and flavor.

I now just add 1/4 dram of water to a dram of scotch rather than trying to play around with “a little bit here, a little more there”, etc. 1/4 dram is not a magic number by any means, but I have never ruined a scotch by going with just 25% water and I have never greatly improved a scotch by going to 50% or more water.

The aroma was more fruity with the addition of water but not overpoweringly so, which is what I expected. Diluting the scotch won’t strengthen the aroma, just bring out more of its character. The initial attack of the flavor of the scotch was much more pleasant to the senses and the aftertaste was more prominent with a 1/4 dram of water. I was surprised to how much difference there actually was with the addition of a bit of pure water.

To sew it all together, a blended malt scotch, at least this Johnnie Walker 12 Year Old Black Label, is not inferior to other single malt scotches, just different.

Going by color you could be fooled into thinking this is a full bodied powerhouse of a scotch. It is not. But it is not a bottom shelf plastic bottle of 5 dollar a gallon rot-gut either. With the judicious addition of water this blended malt scotch is very refreshing and a welcome invitation to sit down in an easy chair and solve the problems of the world with a close friend and a cigar.

What good is it to be sitting in a bar with some friends without attempting to hustle a few drinks out of them? Not much fun at all if you ask me. Fortunately the BBC has a program that occasionally caters to our more basal instincts for chicanery and frivolity called The Real Hustle.

A few of their better clips have found their way to YouTube and one is linked here for your enjoyment and hopefully fun and profit. It will take a little practice, but while you are waiting for your mates to show up to the pub why not put that time to good use?

Can you come up with some of your own or do you have some of your own that work like a charm? Let us know!