1976 Montreal OIympics Sterling Silver Coins complete set - are they worth it?

[TheSilverMustFlow]

I've had someone offer me a complete set of 1976 Montreal OIympics Sterling Silver Coins - all 28 coins in their original display box - for roughly 1.75$ CAD (about 1.40$ USD) above spot per troy once. Now I'm not much of a collector, more of a stacker, but that's over 30 troy ounces of pure silver at a little over spot, which I think is a pretty good deal considering current silver premiums, especially in Canada. There's also the fact that unlike bullion, these specific coins are taxable in Canada, so I'd save a lot in taxes by buying directly from this person.

But I was just wondering if there's a catch - is sterling silver less desirable than other junk silver? Are the 1976 Olympics sets hard to re-sell? Is there something else I might not know about that might impact their value? Or is this a good deal?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

 

[dicker]

Hi - out of interest are these 999 or 925?

Lots of the commemorative issues are 925 - I haven't see the Montral Olympics ones however.

Best

Dicker

[TommyTwoShots]

I would snap these up, great price. A collector might pay a premium and the melt value is always there.

Edited April 5, 2021 by TommyTwoShots

[Pete]

I had this set and ended up selling at a great loss.
The reason for selling was that several coins were showing milk spots and creeping stains and I also noticed that the capsules were glued shut.
They were all 925 silver and looked great but through lack of market interest they were only worth scrap value or even less.
At the time of issue they would have been priced much higher but like so many similar sets just lost their appeal in time.

If you like the set and it is priced near spot then pursue your dream but from an investment / value point of view I would avoid if that's what is more important.
 

[Shinus73]

These are perfect for stacking, assuming you can get them as cheaply as anything else. They have no collectibility value.

[StackemHigh]

Plenty of individual coins out there most of the time. I wouldn't think collectors want them any more unless there is a special conectionto them. Spot price for sterling i'm thinking.

[Antwerpstacker]

I would offer him spot for it, in a take it or leave it deal

[TheSilverMustFlow]

On 05/04/2021 at 04:31, dicker said:

Hi - out of interest are these 999 or 925?

Lots of the commemorative issues are 925 - I haven't see the Montral Olympics ones however.

Best

Dicker

They are 925, a.k.a. sterling - 14 coins that are 24.3 g, and 14 coins that are 48.6 g. The set looks like this:

[TheSilverMustFlow]

On 05/04/2021 at 04:56, TommyTwoShots said:

I would snap these up, great price. A collector might pay a premium and the melt value is always there.

Good to know, thanks for the recommendation!

Edited April 6, 2021 by TheSilverMustFlow
typo

[TheSilverMustFlow]

On 05/04/2021 at 06:17, Pete said:

I had this set and ended up selling at a great loss.
The reason for selling was that several coins were showing milk spots and creeping stains and I also noticed that the capsules were glued shut.
They were all 925 silver and looked great but through lack of market interest they were only worth scrap value or even less.
At the time of issue they would have been priced much higher but like so many similar sets just lost their appeal in time.

If you like the set and it is priced near spot then pursue your dream but from an investment / value point of view I would avoid if that's what is more important.
 

Thanks for explaining, this is very useful info - and I'm sorry you ended up selling at such a loss. Although in my case, the coins aren't milk-spotted at all, according to the guy selling them (I haven't confirmed this in person yet, though).

His asking price comes down to 32.95$ CAD/ ozt (spot is 31.63$ CAD right now), which is roughly 1$ USD over spot, so I think in this case there's little chance of me taking too much of a loss if I resell it (barring the price of silver dropping dramatically, of course). And while I'm only interested in them for stacking purposes, I won't deny that those Montreal Olympics coins do hold a bit of a special meaning to me, as I'm French-Canadian (though I try not to let sentimentality or nostalgia decide when I make purchases, if they aren't worth it financially). So thanks for your input, looks like I have a lot to mull over.  

 

 

 

[TheSilverMustFlow]

On 05/04/2021 at 09:00, StackemHigh said:

Plenty of individual coins out there most of the time. I wouldn't think collectors want them any more unless there is a special conectionto them. Spot price for sterling i'm thinking.

Thank you, I'll keep that in mind and see if I can get the seller to bring the price down. One factor to consider in my case, though, is that silver premiums in Canada are pretty ludicrous, and in the few months since I've started stacking, the best price I've ever found online was 6$ CAD over spot - and that was for generic rounds from an unpopular brand. So this seller offering me less than 2$ CAD above spot is pretty appealing. I'll see if I can get him to lower it, though. Thanks again. 

[TheSilverMustFlow]

On 05/04/2021 at 11:53, Antwerpstacker said:

I would offer him spot for it, in a take it or leave it deal

This is second comment on this thread telling me not to pay above spot, so I'll definitely consider doing that. I'll see if I can negotiate a lower price. Thank you!

[TheSilverMustFlow]

On 05/04/2021 at 08:23, Shinus73 said:

These are perfect for stacking, assuming you can get them as cheaply as anything else. They have no collectibility value.

Good to know they're specifically good for stacking, as I have no real interest in their collectability. And the price is pretty reasonable IMO, but I'll see if I can't get an even better deal. Thank you!

[RacerCool]

I'd take them at $1 over spot! They'd be a good addition to the stack. 

[TheSilverMustFlow]

50 minutes ago, RacerCool said:

I'd take them at $1 over spot! They'd be a good addition to the stack. 

Thanks for your input, this is helpful!

[SilverTalent]

These coins are great and come from the Canadian mint which is reputable 

I don’t understand all the negativity about this coins.  They are proof coins 

which make them have a premium over Bullion 

I know these coins I have a set and they are Attractive 

and could be a collectors item eventually .

in the meantime they are a good investment provided you don’t pay to much over spot 925 price 

Sincerely SilverTalent 

[TheSilverMustFlow]

7 hours ago, SilverTalent said:

These coins are great and come from the Canadian mint which is reputable 

I don’t understand all the negativity about this coins.  They are proof coins 

which make them have a premium over Bullion 

I know these coins I have a set and they are Attractive 

and could be a collectors item eventually .

in the meantime they are a good investment provided you don’t pay to much over spot 925 price 

Sincerely SilverTalent 

Those are some very good points, thank you! I agree it's a beautiful set, didn't know they were proofs though, that's even better. 

Also, you mentionned "spot 925 price" - is that a different thing from regular spot price, or does that just mean I should factor in the 7.5% of the coins' weight that isn't silver? Just wondering, I'm fairly new to this.

[SilverTalent]

Yeah just -  7.5 %  925 silver is more durable as well .

id buy the set if I had a chance . You have over a kilo of Sterling 925 silver can’t be bad  

 

[TheSilverMustFlow]

14 hours ago, SilverTalent said:

Yeah just -  7.5 %  925 silver is more durable as well .

id buy the set if I had a chance . You have over a kilo of Sterling 925 silver can’t be bad  

 

That's good advice, thank you. I'd been leaning increasingly toward buying the set, but now you have me convinced. I agree, the silver content alone makes this worth it for that price. Much appreciated!

[SilverTalent]

im suprised  the negativity  on 

  here  people think they no alot 

but infact they dont no a good deal 

 

[TheSilverMustFlow]

UPDATE: I've bought the set! Ended up getting the guy to lower the price to about 0.25$ over spot, so I'm quite happy with the price and very happy with the set itself, it's gorgeous and in great condition. It also makes a nice change from buying the same tubes of generic rounds over and over again, while costing roughly the same as said rounds.

 

So thank you all very much for your input! Reading your advice and opinions really helped me weigh all the pros and cons and make an informed decision, so I greatly appreciate it.

 

Take care!

[stefffana]

I am really happy for you, my friend! Any gram of precious metal added to your stack is a step forward. I know these coins, are gorgeous and very well made. Doesn't matter if are only .925. Silver is silver. There are a lot of silver coins .100, .300, .500, .800, .850, .900. and are selling quick.  A lot of gold coins are only .900 or .916 and are well loved. It is not necessary to be "pure".

Over all, you are the happy owner of a beautiful complete set of untouched coins (with face value and year of issue, not generic rounds), made especially for an special event.

Don't forget what happened at 1976 Montreal Olympics: it was the first 10.00 offered for an gymnastics competition in history. In that year Nadia Comaneci from Romania was awarded with the first 10.00. Even Longines electronic displays wasn't prepared you this, showing 1.00.😊 see the picture attached😊

Congratulation! It is a very nice set and I am sure, when the time to sell will come, its value will be higher.

Cheers!

Stefan.

[TheSilverMustFlow]

On 13/04/2021 at 06:38, stefffana said:

I am really happy for you, my friend! Any gram of precious metal added to your stack is a step forward. I know these coins, are gorgeous and very well made. Doesn't matter if are only .925. Silver is silver. There are a lot of silver coins .100, .300, .500, .800, .850, .900. and are selling quick.  A lot of gold coins are only .900 or .916 and are well loved. It is not necessary to be "pure".

Over all, you are the happy owner of a beautiful complete set of untouched coins (with face value and year of issue, not generic rounds), made especially for an special event.

Don't forget what happened at 1976 Montreal Olympics: it was the first 10.00 offered for an gymnastics competition in history. In that year Nadia Comaneci from Romania was awarded with the first 10.00. Even Longines electronic displays wasn't prepared you this, showing 1.00.😊 see the picture attached😊

Congratulation! It is a very nice set and I am sure, when the time to sell will come, its value will be higher.

Cheers!

Stefan.

Thank you Stefan!

Glad you approve, it's reassuring to hear that you think I made a good purchase. And I agree, purity doesn't matter - as you say, silver is silver. Pure, sterling, junk, it's all fine by me. I hope you're right that the value will increase over time - I have little doubt that the price of silver will keep going up, but it would be nice if, on top of that, such a beautiful set eventually became more prized by collectors. I feel it is undervalued at the moment. 

Also, I'd completely forgotten that the Montreal Olympics were when Nadia Comaneci obtained her historic 10.0, that makes the set even more fun to own.

Thanks again.

 

 

[Taikonaut]

I have this set in a cabinet just like this

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-art-collectibles/ottawa/collectors-1976-montreal-olympic-silver-proof-28-coin-set/1595026286?undefined

what are they worth now?

 

[stefffana]

30 minutes ago, Taikonaut said:

I have this set in a cabinet just like this

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-art-collectibles/ottawa/collectors-1976-montreal-olympic-silver-proof-28-coin-set/1595026286?undefined

what are they worth now?

 

It is a nice set, should be totally 14 x 10 dollars (48.6g sterling) and 14 x 5 dollars (24.3 sterling). So, an equivalent of 944.05g of pure silver, with a melting value today of £555.5. 

Unfortunately, they are not selling well as a set. You should ask an extra of 10%-15% over spot value, but I doubt you will be able to sell.

They are selling better individually on Ebay, @£32/each for 10 dollars and £20/each for 5 dollars, but it is painful.

Recently, one member had these coins for sale in original boxes with COA and was struggling to sell them at spot plus shipping.