Franklin Mint Coins And Stuff.

I have never paid anywhere near the original issue price for a Franklin Mint set, but I have bought a few very cheap on the secondary market, and I once got a 1976 FM Maltese 5-mils in a dealer's junk tray. The Uncirculated FM coins are normally much scarcer than the proofs, and some have really low mintages.

Do some homework by googling. The things they sell can be proven to depreciate in value by comparing actual sold items to ebay sales and the original costs.

Being brutally honest, the FM depend on people following a statement associated with P.T. Barnum: There's a sucker born every minute. Unfortunately there are people preyed upon by the FM (and many other business as with political figures). These people get a cold, cruel slap of reality across their face when they try to sell their FM "investments collections."

You can find many, many online stories of people trying to sell their "collectable FM coins" who have lost thousands. Had they done more research (like you are!), they would not have been fooled.

This is the exact practice of the Samlerhuset in Norway. They don't sell coins, they sell 'the joy of collecting' via coins. A lot of people with no clue about collecting coins really think they have made a major investment in a valuable collection. I sometimes buy their stuff at my local coin shop for 25% of the actual sales value or less.

Best to stay away from this kind of vampires. Buy their stuff at bargain rates secondhand.

Interesting discussion. There is a niche market for Franklin Mint medals, coins, and ingots with ties to the State of Hawaii.

It all stems from the books by Donald Medcalf and Ronald Russell, titled Hawaiian Money (there is a 1st and 2nd edition). They integrated the Hawaii related Franklin Mint medals, coins, and ingots into both books. The 2nd edition was published in 1991. Since they were cataloged there is a demand with Hawaii specialist.

Back in 2014, I noticed that several medals, coins, and ingots were either missing or incorrectly cataloged in the 1991 Hawaiian Money Book. I slowly kept track of my research findings, then published a book in 2014. Then refreshed the book in 2015.

Here is a hint. There is a nice premium for those Hawaii related items that are still in their original packaging.

Not here to sell my book, but to point out this niche market. My book's description points out additional details of this niche market area. https://www.createspace.com/5281076