This coin is Legal Tender - at least it was, within the walls of the Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas. These Silver Strikes are issued from one special, very noisy and rambunctious slot machine. Strikes are collected by Strikers, who have their own websites and the kind of detailed analysis that coin collectors are so fond of. One site even lists where to find each Silver Strike slot in Las Vegas, and what varieties of Strikes are currently issued. Although they are denominated at $10 most sell for $15 or more on Ebay, depending on scarcity. At least one club has an annual junket to Las Vegas.
I invest in these from the source occasionally, to augment my IRA.
This coin is part of a six-coin series celebrating "1001 Arabian Nights". The center plug is pure silver, about six-tenths of an ounce. The rim is heavy gold electroplate. Strikes are privately minted to order, struck as proofs and issued in a protective plastic case similar to an Airtite. They have been popular for more than a decade; the first machine was released in the early 90's.
As long as silver remains below $15 an ounce, the casino makes money on the Strike even when you win one. Warren Buffett, who recently sold his 130 million ounces at $15 to the iShares Silver Fund (SLV), was quoted as saying he sold too soon.
Update, February 2008 -
Things change. The Aladdin disappeared, rechristened Planet Hollywood and redecorated inside and out. Obviously, the Scheherezade strike was retired along with all the other Aladdin memorabilia.
Likewise, silver itself squeezed casino margins. With silver trading at $17 the ten dollar Strike is slightly in the money. The few Strike machines that remain offer $40 silver tokens (1.5 ounces of silver) or $10 base-metal casino checks. Even the vaunted $200 prize, a twelve-troy-ounce disk, is gone.
Update, February 2012 -
Silver's volatile rise above $40 was the death blow to the Silver Strike machines. Planet Hollywood itself went into bankruptcy and changed hands once again. No Silver Strike machines remain in the city.
