Nice coin... but sure seems a waste of money to keep producing all these specail coins...
The value is in their seigniorage or the price the mint charges collectors over the production cost. It can also refer to the face value minus the production cost.
It’s certainly not a waste of the taxpayers’ money. Mints make a fortune on selling these coins to collectors.
Collector coins are also loved by governments. Collectors pay a considerable mark-up over face value for the coins and promptly remove them from circulation. Most never return to circulation; because their value to collectors greatly exceeds their face value. Governments can thus, quite literally, mint money; without any risk of creating inflation or triggering a devaluation. The collectors are, in effect, making a donation to the government. In return, collectors get to keep coins they will never spend.