I am new to the forum, so please excuse any errors as I "find my way".
I have been a collector for a long time and need someone to help find out about Coca Cola cards---specifically the GOLD cards and the Artist Proof Gold cards. Anyone know any sources to find out: where to find more, and how to determine the value of my artist proof cards? Thanks MUCH for anyone with info.

http://nslists.com/jaall.htm#c

There are checklists here - welcome to cardtalk

And Jeff's site should come with the following warning:
Beware! You thought your collection was complete and you were happy. Prepare for all that to change

When Collect-A-Card went out of business, they sold off all of the gold cards at pennies on the dollar. Thousands of boxes still had the redemption cards in them and were worthless. The regular gold cards sell sometimes as low as $50 each. Every now and then the Honus Wagner card will sell for $150-$200 but the basketball and country gold cards sell for almost nothing. As for the Artist proofs, it is speculative. My famous saying is they will only sell for what someone is willing to pay.

I appreciate all the responses and how quick they were. Sure made me feel welcome as the newbee!!! Thanks again

The artists' proofs are still very valuable since only 10 of each exist. Given their rarity, it is difficult to state a specific price as they seldom have come up for sale in the last several years. I own a few of them and if I ever decided to sell them, I would be asking for no less than $1,500 a piece, with the Honus Wagner commanding a premium over that because of its cross collectability with sports cards enthusiasts.

They are no more valuable than any other gold card. No one will pay those kind of prices, especially since no one really knows how many were made. I have come across gold cards with double numbers. As I said before, it is only worth what someone is willing to offer and you are willing to accept. Otherwise, you can line the inside of your coffin with them when you go. I, on the other hand will never lock myself down to a price. I have no intentions of leaving any of this stuff behind because of an inflated value. Besides, you didn't pay $1,500 for them so why not be open to offers?
Now don't take it personally bud, just my opinion.
Try to make the 60th this May. It's going to be a great show.
(I'm bringing some really rare promos!!!)

A great source of additional information is Billy Cole's Coke Cards Resource, with images, lore, and even scans of 15-year-old price guides.

Beamer hit the nail on the head - Collect-a-Card essentially sold off what they had on the shelves when they went out of business. This included rare cards that had been held for redemption, extra cards beyond the amount planned for release in packs or by redemption, unique cards and proofs that weren't intended for release, and fan-club cards.

Though the artist proofs were advertised as only 10 for the usual distribution, it's possible that there were slightly more than that # made, when they made allowances for defects and "the company vault". At the manufacturer, often the only difference in a proof card is a stamping.

So there is never any guarantee on card quantities after a manufacturer sells off its own inventory. Proofs and gold cards (etc.) are prized but you need a bit of faith to rely on the quantities that were originally planned. Announced numbers are still a good gauge of relative scarcity, but there can be exceptions.

In the many times we've seen a cardmaker go out of business or be forced into bankruptcy, I've never seen the people who bought the remaining cards "for pennies on the dollar" publicize exactly what they got.

And, more often than not, the haul includes some cards and proofs and uncut sheets that nobody knew about. Topps Vault has found it profitable to market some of the unique items they created during design and manufacturing (with COAs), and you can expect that every other cardmaker built up a shelf of the same sort of things.