Expert: PAPAJACK - 3/25/2008

Question
i just purchased a 1974 hamilton mint norman rockwell 1000 grain each, set of the four freedom maching numbered set.
the set is in a picture frame and in the original box.
can't find nothing on the internet about it.
i found i set from a coin dealer online but it was already sold, and did not have a price it sold for.
if you could help i would like to know what it is worth.
thanks   jeff

Answer
Hello Jeff,                                 

This is one of the countless silver bullion pieces produced.

Its actual value is tied to the current price of one ounce of silver.

They are made in rounds and rectangles (bars) then sold to the public at a premium over the spot market. All I have seen are Proof Condition, all are 99.9% pure silver.

Some are made using coin designs and I have seen tractors presidents, company logos etc. They are categorized as Silver Art Bars (or rounds) and as I said trade at the current price of silver. Some rare metallic art sell at a higher price but most are produced in the millions.
 
http://www.apmex.com/shop/buy/Silver_Bars.asp
www.villagecoin.com/page/coin/CTGY/ART
http://www.rivercitycoins.com/silversets/silversets.html

There is a set in the original silver and gold plated selling at the last link above at;
http://snipurl.com/22klj
The above link should take you to the set you looked at. The seller notes “bars are part of a 12 Bar Set minted in 1975 and 76 by the Hamilton Mint and known as Norman Rockwell's 12 Most Loved Saturday Evening Post Covers. These bars are one troy ounce of .999 fine silver with Choice Cameo Proof surfaces.. The bars offered in the following table are in Choice Proof Mint condition in the plastic capsule as issued.”

Take a look and see how the gold plated ones are selling for less than the original strikes. This leads me to believe that the first issue did not sell out and someone tried plating others with a few cents worth of gold to move the bars in the marketplace.

Any sale price above the actual precious metal content is decided between the buyer and seller. Unless you really love the artwork on these bullion items do not overpay. Many were being bought at the silver value and sold to be melted since silver is on the rise. This may cause a limited edition art bar to slowly go up in value but only to a Silver Art Bar Collector. This year silver has gone from about $13 to $19 dollars an ounce but in the past week it dropped $3 per ounce.

Here is a link to see what others are paying for silver art bars on eBay.
http://snipurl.com/22kl1

If there any more information you require on this question just ask.
This is a link for completed silver art sales on eBay;  http://snipurl.com/22knp
 
Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack