Due to the large quantities struck, Bicentennial coins remain inexpensive. A set of three silver coins contains of the precious metal. In a 1996 statistical study, T.V. Buttrey found that about 750,000,000 of the circulation quarters, more than a third, had been hoarded and did not circulate. Coin dealer Marcel Sassola suggested in 1977 of the silver sets, "There were just too many sold, and I think it will take a long time before they have any real value. Maybe by the Tricentennial."