{"id":3670,"date":"2014-04-18T13:30:33","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T17:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zombiegift.com\/zombie-blog\/?p=3670"},"modified":"2014-04-18T17:06:38","modified_gmt":"2014-04-18T21:06:38","slug":"zombie-product-review-zombucks-the-barber-silver-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zombiegift.com\/zombie-blog\/zombie-product-review-zombucks-the-barber-silver-round\/","title":{"rendered":"Zombie Product Review: Zombucks “The Barber” Silver Round"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Zombucks<\/a>
\nWe come across some of the coolest zombie products. \u00a0Few things please us more than when we’re sent something unique and zombie related for a detailed hands on review. It doesn’t get much cooler or more unique than The Zombucks\u2122 limited precious bullion round series from Provident Metals. We\u2019ve seen photos of them online, but have been dying to see one first hand. When we heard the kind folks at Provident Metals were sending their latest addition to the Zombucks line our way for review, we were understandably excited. Do these zombie themed versions of popular coins from the past live up to our expectations or did they disappoint? Read on to find out!<\/p>\n

Before we get into the review it\u2019s probably a good idea to take a few moments for a crash course in precious metal bullion and the Zombucks\u2122 line. Of course feel free to just\u00a0skip to our review<\/a><\/strong> if you don’t need the lesson or you’re just impatient.\u00a0\u00a0Either way I promise it will be painless.<\/p>\n

A metal is considered precious when it is rare and holds high economic value. We\u2019re talking the shiny valuable stuff like gold, silver, palladium and platinum.\u00a0 The term \u201cBullion\u201d typically refers to a precious metal in bulk form and this is how precious metal is typically collected, stored and traded. Precious metal bullion is available in different forms such as bars, ingots, rounds or coins. Bullion holds no real face value like legal tender. Instead the value lies in the inherent value of the precious metal itself. That value is based partly on purity and mass. Three nines (.999 or 99.9%) purity is commonly seen in the world of precious metals and that\u2019s about as pure as it gets. It\u2019s nearly impossible, for practical purposes, to purify a precious metal to 100% pure.<\/p>\n

Why bother with collecting and investing in precious metals? Many would argue that paper money in your pocket is essentially just that: worthless paper. (Side note if you feel that way I\u2019m happy to take all of your money should you decide to throw it all away one day. )\u00a0 Throughout history gold, silver and other precious metals have formed the basis of economy and monetary systems.<\/p>\n

Most people know money here in the United States used to be backed by gold. That was a long time ago my friend. Our US currency hasn\u2019t been backed by gold since we ended the Gold Standard way back in 1933. \u00a0Changes back in the 1970s effectively removed any remaining international association between gold and the value of the US Dollar. Your money is now backed by theory and the \u201cFull Faith and Credit of the United States\u201d. To further complicate matters the “value” of the US dollar fluctuates and during times of recession and socio-economic turmoil it usually drops. That\u2019s all a very scary combination for many.<\/p>\n

Precious metals like gold and silver have held their value well over time and that makes them an attractive investment and bartering tool regardless of the state of the economy. It\u2019s also just fun to collect shiny stuff! What could be more fun than collecting Zombie themed precious metal bullion? \u00a0That\u2019s exactly the opportunity Provident Metals<\/a>\u00a0brings to the table with their Zombucks\u2122<\/a> series of bullion rounds.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a \u201cround?\u201d While they may look just like a coin, that\u2019s technically not the correct term. The term \u201ccoin\u201d usually refers to actual currency and legal tender, which a \u201cround\u201d is not.\u00a0 In other words you could walk into a store and pay for an item with the face value of a coin. You can\u2019t do that with a round because they\u2019re not actual money. Since there\u2019s no real face value, the value of a round mainly lies in the inherent value of the precious metal it is made up of. Since they\u2019re not technically coins and they\u2019re essentially a round disk of precious metal, they\u2019re referred to as \u201crounds.\u201d \u00a0Call them what you like, but if you ask us, it doesn\u2019t get any cooler than shiny zombie themed precious metal discs.<\/p>\n

The Zombucks\u2122 limited bullion series consists of a total of 10 different rounds. The fun thing about this series is the designs are actually based off of original popular coins from history. Each release is limited in number. Once the sales period ends, the round is discontinued and only more expensive collectible proofs are available for that round. Each round is currently available in silver and more affordable copper.<\/p>\n

The series launched with two designs in 2013. The first round offered was the 2017 Zombucks Walker round which is a zombie themed interpretation of Adolph Weinman\u2019s Walking Liberty Design.\u00a0 This was followed by the 2017 Morgue Anne round that pays homage to the Morgan Dollar that circulated from 1878-1904 and in 1921. The third offering in the Zombucks line was the 2018 ZomBuff round inspired by James Earle Fraser\u2019s Indian Head Nickel (1913-1938). That brings us to the piece we received for review.
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Our Review<\/h2>\n

Provident Metals sent us the newest member of their Zombucks line: The Barber<\/em>. The Barber is the fourth in a series of 10 rounds that will make up the Zombucks limited bullion series. We received a 1 oz Silver The Barber<\/em> Round.<\/p>\n

Packaging and Shipping:<\/strong> \u00a0Shipping was fast and our piece was double packed in two bubble envelope mailers. The Barber was packaged in a clear plastic coin\/round sleeve along with a Provident Metals card. The fact that our round was sent in a Biohazard labeled zip closure baggy was a nice zombie-themed finishing touch. There\u2019s absolutely nothing to complain about here!<\/p>\n

\"Zombucks<\/a><\/p>\n

\"<\/a>
Our piece arrived in a clear plastic coin\/round sleeve with a Provident Metals branded card.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The Round:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>The Barber<\/em> honors the Barber Liberty Head Quarter that circulated from 1892 to 1916. The original coin was so named because the image was created by the US Chief Engraver at the time, Charles E. Barber. \u00a0Here’s what the original coin looks like:<\/p>\n

\"The
The inspiration for the Zombucks “The Barber”: The original Barber Liberty Head Quarter\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(1892-1916)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Provident has given a subtle and refined zombie makeover to Lady Liberty. Her neck is gashed and the flesh on her face is decomposing. In a cruel play on words she has a pair of scissors or barber shears embedded in her eye. \u00a0This is a 39mm diameter, 1 troy ounce round of .999 fine silver and it is absolutely gorgeous.<\/p>\n

\"Zombucks<\/a>
Isn’t she lovely? This is an actual photo of the obverse side of the Barber round we received for review. (Click the image to open a larger view)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Right out of the package we were blown away.\u00a0 We found the finish on The Barber to be superb. The level of detail was stunning. We fully expected the physical product to be sub-par compared to the product shown on the web. We were quite pleased to discover the photos on the Zombucks and Provident Metals sites don\u2019t do the round justice. We found everything crisp with sharp detail and overall the finish was close to flawless. Lustre was much better than we anticipated from the product photos .<\/p>\n

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The obverse, or front face, of the coin is stunning. We could make out tiny details right down to the slotted screw in the center of the scissors embedded in Lady Liberty\u2019s eye. Even the thirteen 6 pointed stars around the perimeter are sharp and crisp. The \u201cZ\u201d50 denomination is a nice touch.<\/p>\n

\"Reverse<\/a>
Here’s a shot of the reverse side our our silver Barber. This image captures the great detail but doesn’t do the lustre justice. (Click the image to see a bigger view.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The reverse of the round features the biohazard symbol, some blood spatter effects and the phrase \u201cZombucks The Currency of The Apocalypse\u201d. We were pretty surprised at the sharp detail here as well. The biohazard emblem has a very cool raised 3D effect that terminates in a nice sharp line to add depth. The round also sports the provident metals logo, which came out quite well considering the small size. The reverse is also marked \u201c1 oz .999 fine silver.\u201d<\/p>\n

See more images our Zombucks The Barber Silver Round in the image gallery below. (Click each image to open up a larger image in a new window\/tab)<\/p>\n

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