QUESTION ON CASINO TOKENS

DESERTRODENT

I HAVE A FEW OF THESE ARE THEY ALL .999 FINE OR JUST THE CENTERS ANY IDEA OF THE TRUE WEIGHT? MOST ARE FROM FITZGERALDS CASINO IN LAS VEGAS AND SAY 10.00 LIMITED EDITON'S

cars

Only the centers are .999 ag, I believe the weight is around .7 oz

DESERTRODENT

Thanks that's the info I was looking for.

OPA

.999 Fine Silver center within an outer ring of base metal. The typical silver weight is 0.600 oz. ( this is for a $10 Strike)
Those "tokens" are normally referred to as "strikes."

MoneyLA

be careful with these... since the run up in silver prices the original "silver" has been replaced with other metal, or the silver inserts no longer contain 6-tenths of an ounce.

also, these so called "silver strikes" come in different denominations. the most common is the $10 face value strike which has 6-tenths of an ounce of silver inside a brass ring. but there are also $5 strikes, $7 strikes, $25 strikes and even $250 strikes that all vary in size and silver content.

some casinos in Vegas still have slot machines that give out the silver strikes as prizes, but these "new strikes" may not have any silver at all. I have not seen the new strikes yet, but the original silver variety usually retail for about $15 each.

also note that there are a few that are "rare" and have "collector value." usually these strikes commemorate an event such as a special concert.

strikes from closed casinos are collectible.

Jackrabbit

Is there a price guide or book out on the value of these? Some sellers keep referring to book value.. I would like to know what book they are talking about.

Any help I can get would be appreciated.. Thanks

MoneyLA

If you do an internet search I am afraid you will find a lot of out of date websites. If there is a "book" with "book values" I think it would be privately printed by a dealer. unfortunately the market for these things is small and the market is actually controlled by a few dealers. if they tell you "book value" then it is their book.

from time to time there are collectible shows in Vegas and Los Angeles for casino chip and token and memorabilia collectors and your best bet is to show up at one of these and shop your pieces around.

for an idea about possible values, check ebay.

there are many coin dealers and pawn shops in LA that have silver strikes but they admit they don't know anything about them, so they price them to make a profit on what they paid for them.

Sometimes there is a large stash. The gold dealer on my web site has a large stash that he bought from "walk ins" but he doesnt know what theyre worth. I went through his box of them about a week ago and none of them were collectible.

Superior Galleries in Beverly Hills about a year ago had a huge box of them, I went through them all and not one collectible one.

Wilshire Coin on Lincoln Blvd in Santa Monica also has a big box filled with them... yes I looked through them all and none was collectible. In fact, they asked me to make an offer and I passed.

Also try Coins Plus in Newhall California, they get a lot sold by walkins.

A lot of the Los Angeles area dealers get them because so many LA residents go to Vegas, win these things, and don't know what to do with them.

The Vegas collector shows are held in the smaller casinos... Bick International puts them on. Try a Google search.

Jackrabbit

Alan,

Thanks for your help.. Just starting to buy a few casino strikes and my question to is, you say none where collectible. Does that mean, none was of interest to you or is there some theme's more desirable than others.. Does it just happen to be what your interested in, or are there some worth more, depending on subject of strike.. Thanks for any help anyone can give me..

MoneyLA

when I say "collectible" I mean a strike that had some collector value. all of the strikes I saw were "common" or "generic" and worth their silver content only. I was looking for one of those "rare event strikes" such as a Sinatra concert or Jimmy Durante concert strike, or an Elvis strike. Some strikes actually will indicate how many were made.

almost all strikes say they are limited, but they aren't limited enough to be collectible.

After youve looked at a lot of them, you'll get the feeling about which are collectible and which are common.

Years ago, I was at a private mint that made strikes for one casino. the mint had just gone bankrupt and I was in "the back" and saw some sample strikes. darn it, I wish I had asked for one or two or all of them. at the time I probably could have gotten them. darn, what would they be worth now? and Ive always wondered what happened to them?

I know that when this private mint was being liquidated-- some of the casino tokens they made were sold to a coin dealer... and he had someone go to the casino and YES they were redeemed for cash.