As a rule, the Local Coin Shop Dealer, throws American Silver Eagles, like this hand-painted treasure, into the "Junk Silver Box." He would argue that the paint corrupts, fouls, taints, etc... the pure Fine Silver content. Or, the Coin's Silver, becomes less than the 0.999 pure Silver, or something like that. The reverse side, of this, tougher to find, 1998 date, is also hand-painted.
There are "colorized-copies" versions out there, as well, and can carry a hefty premium, in many secondary markets. These copies are much more common than the rarer hand-painted works of art, that may take hours to paint. I am always on the lookout for these Art-Coins. If one looks closely, the small pixels can be seen, in this cool Dale Earnhardt copy, over the American Silver Eagle, Liberty. The LCS must have had fifty, many different, of these computer-colorized Coins in the discounted area. They are like $5 (USD) less than his cheapest BU ASE. I picked up a few, a few months ago, for under $20, each. Today, $32 each. They make great gifts for many different types of occasions. One-stop Christmas shopping for me. To me, the discounted copies, are a good buy, but the hand-painted is the real deal. Correction!!! The eagle-side is NOT hand-painted! It is the computer copy reverse of the Earnhardt Coin. Sorry about that!
