Are "art" coins worth it?

Hey guys. So I've just discovered what I guess you would call art (colorized and plated) coins? I realized they been around for awhile but I never really paid attention to them. Some of them are pretty interesting and I was wondering if they have any real collectable value or if they are just overpriced and novelties? I especially like the look of the black ruthenium and gold sets but are they worth the cost?

 

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No. They are damaged. Nothing more than junky novelties.
But if you like them, buy them. Just don't expect to get your money back if the time comes to sell them.

 

Thank you sir, exactly what I need to hear. Maybe one day I can find a face value set, lol

 

If you want to get an idea of what they may be worth down the road, just take a look at all those that were overpriced flops for decades by the Franklin Mint.

 

It is unlikely that you would ever find them for "face value", but you might find them for "melt value" if they are truly silver.

 

That's a very good point, how would I know if they really are silver if they are plated with something else?

 

You might find a B&M (brick & mortar) dealer or a jeweler in your area that has an XRF Analyzer and can tell you the exact composition.

 

Please understand that I am not trying to dissuade you from purchasing them. If you like them, you can collect anything you want as long as you know up front what you are getting.

FWIW, I collect medals. I have more than 500. Some are silver. Some are copper. Some are bronze. (I can't afford gold!) I collect medals for their rarity, beauty and/or historic significance, and I pay a premium for them but not primarily because of their metal content. Would you expect to buy the Mona Lisa for the value of the paint, only?

 

You can deduce that by the coins that they are made out of. For example, above you posted a few of these "art coins" for sale. One of them is a 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar. Those are all 90% silver. A coupe are ASEs which are 1oz .999 silver.

They aren't minting the coins, they are just modifying existing coins. So, look at what the base coin is and you can deduce it's composition.

 

It's a gamble. If you purchase them from the manufacture and flip them immediately while the novelty is still present - you may or may not make a little money (risky).

If you purchase them from a secondary source - you'll most likely lose. They are worth a little less than melt.

Now if you really like the design and want one for your collection. There is nothing wrong with that - just don't expect to get your money out of it.

 

No but I get the impression I would be buying these coins for the value of their content which is below their artistic value considering they are not one of a kind like the Mona Lisa, lol. It sounds to me the only way I would get a return or even break even would be if silver prices skyrocketed.

 

It’s nothing more than a marketing ploy to make money. In reality, it’s damage to the coin. As a collector, I have no such interest in them.

 

There's a pawn shop here in town that sells replica coins with absolutely no silver content at all.

 

I just noticed some sets seem to be constantly sold out and thought there may be a premium to be made one day. But in hindsight they can just make more I suppose.

 

I see these much like collector plates. I was a raving Beatles fan and back in the 1980’s, yes I purchased a full set of collectible Beatles plates…… Please, no applause…… Yeah, it was hideously stupid. Forty years those plates have languished in a dusty box in the attic. And I can assure you that if I sold them, they wouldn’t bring pennies on the dollar. Lesson learned.

 

When the State Quarter program began in 1999, sites like QVC and HSN started selling "specialty sets" using clad quarters that were plated with gold, platinum or silver. Buyers with absolutely no knowledge of coins paid a huge premium for these sets, and when they realized that they were only worth face value, they began dumping them back into circulation.

 

Usually, with those types of replicas the details are all wrong and it's pretty easy to tell they are fakes. But, most of the places that do the "art coin" think simply take existing coins and customize them. It's just simpler.

 

If I had Beatles plates I would break them out whenever I had company and serve dinner on them.

 

The owners son casts them somehow from legitimate coins that have been sold to the pawn shop. They are pretty impressive looking even sitting next to the original. But I see your point, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

 

I'd bet that ChumLee would use them for target practice at the gun range.