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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;mkwelbornjr, post: 1564354, member: 17034&quot;]Not at all.&nbsp; Its a nice looking American made product. These are struck by America&#039;s Oldest Private Mint...Osborne Coinage in Cincinatti.&nbsp; I get a chill down my spine just to be able to support that...in a day when people go to Hobby Lobby and buy stuff made in China.&nbsp; Too many companies these days just leave all R&amp;D up to the chinese vendors.&nbsp; Yest this program from Franklin Mint is sculpted entirely by masters&nbsp; such as Ralph Beinart and George McMonigle.&nbsp; Have you noticed how high Jewelry is compared the precious metal weight.&nbsp;&nbsp; I couldn&#039;t be more than pleased with it.&nbsp; I like silver eagles too but you are comparing apples and oranges.&nbsp; ASE&#039;s are boring to me as compared to this.&nbsp; I have the 25th Ann ASE set.&nbsp; I got them graded by NGC.&nbsp; But I like to support classic icons like FM as well.&nbsp; FM pioneered the cameo proof finish.&nbsp; The US Mint even bough equipment from them as they downsized.&nbsp; The best american sculptors all were employees of Franklin Mint before going to US Mint etc...with the exception of Gilroy Roberts who helped found Franklin Mint.&nbsp; At $142.14 per medal...the Royal Mint charges similar for some of their London 2012 products.&nbsp; Thats a profit margin thats no different than what you pay for an iphone or ipad...or toothpaste at Wal-Mart.&nbsp; As long as they don&#039;t lie and guarantee investment or anything...I am okay with it.&nbsp; Its not like National Collectors mint where they sell a gold plated item and discuss the market price of gold.&nbsp; In this case the plating is for aesthetics.&nbsp; I am not in search of the cheapest silver...I just collect what I like.&nbsp; If I die and someone sells it for a fraction of the price I still got my enjoyment.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then on the other hand...besides perhaps the Star Spangled commems and the High Relief Eagle...the US mints products are bombs in terms of design.&nbsp; We have the Boy Scouts coin with its liberal agenda...which was even more so fact once we saw designs for the Girl Scouts coin.&nbsp; If you look back at the Franklin Mint&#039;s medal programs issued in the 70&#039;s for Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Presidents...the designs are all far superior to what the US Mint has offered.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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