There's very little written about them because they were not around past lunch - if you get my drift.

The only thing mentioned in Cook's book is that they were here for a short time. Your representative kit appears correct. These never appeared in an official cat. There was a flyer sent out, that's about it.

The "gold" was actually a gold tone brass plating.

As far as collecting ... I would think it would be an interesting piece. They didn't make many of these at all.

What do think a "fair" price would be? I was just going to call the guy.

[SIZE=4]WAY[/SIZE] too many variables for me to even ballpark it. I'm unsure of the ply layup, condition of the hardware, shells, wrap, etc. I have NO idea what the level of desirability is in the resell arena.

Man, this is one of those kits you may want to look at with serious blinders on.

Answer these questions for yourself:

Are those the sized toms you want? Is that the color you desire?

If you get good responses from those, then I would do the completed auctions analysis of some Slingy kits in those relative sizes and be done with it. I can't think of a more fair way for both parties.

There probably was a reason why they did not produce many of these kits. I did the completed listings thing already and really can`t find a good comparable kit. Heck I can`t figure out when they were made.

The Black Gold series came out for a short time around 1980. At that time, 5-ply shells were the Slingerland standard, but 3-ply shells with re-rings were still in production 'til 1981.

They're fairly rare, but if I had to guess (and it's a pretty wild guess), I don't think that really elevates their value much if at all. I think I've seen bits and pieces of Black Gold stuff on eBay from time to time and the demand doesn't seem to be great. I don't recall the last time I saw a nearly complete set, though. Might have something to do with the "not quite vintage" age, near the end of the line for Slingerland, and the likelihood that the shells aren't 3-ply. Might have something to do with the reputation the gold stuff has for being easily scratched.

Thanks you for the "poop". At least I know when they were made. I`m on the fence with these, not a power tom fan, but 1st time that I have see one of these kits. I have been on a few road trips lately, one was a long one 8 1/2 hours in the truck and was I very disappointed! I picked a bad time to quit "drinkun"LoLoLoLo

Also, keep in mind that these used the Spirit line of the hardware and not the Magnum or Artist. The Spirit line was somewhat lighter weight stuff ... BUT, it was still good hardware. It was strong and very reliable. It's not the most beautiful stuff to my eyes ... looks a little like Pearl.