Greg - Hey - it's all good. You've got a unique collection that you think has value/merit. You asked what we thought, and you got what you asked for - maybe more than you asked for.
People collect all kinds of stuff for all kinds of reasons. None are right, none are wrong. You think these are smart as an investment - then good for you - hang on to them, in the packaging, and test the waters every so often if you decide to cash out - post them as BIN or with a high auction reserve, on the auction site, and see what happens. You are targeting serious collectors, obviously, not users. I know there are lots of those guys out there in the antique collection mode - maybe the modern set will appeal to some of them as well - the sequential numbers seem certain to be unique, IMO.
Me, for example - when I sometimes get drug into an antique place [not very often, thankfully] I search for oddball salt and pepper shaker sets. They don't get used - they don't even really get acknowledged, to be honest. SWMBO thinks I am weird, but just shrugs it off.
I have paid as much as ten bucks for a set. None in bronze, unfortunately. Not holding on to them as an investment - that's for sure.
My favorite: ball mitt pepper holding a baseball salt.
When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.