There are two ways to collect silver strikes. The first is for profit, and the second is for fun. I recommend that you collect for fun. I'll discuss the pitfalls of a profit-based hobby later. If you want to learn how to have more fun collecting silver strikes, then you have come to the right place.


To start, you need some basic equipment. A combination collector catalog and price guide is essential. Sure, I'm biased, because I publish the world's longest-running Nevada silver strike guides. I also publish the first and only silver strike guide on CD. I also have the longest-running web site about Nevada silver strikes, and the longest-running online forum. You can always find my silver strike guides listed on eBay. A good guide will give you all the information you need to identify your strikes, to learn their approximate value, and to see which ones you are missing. Did you know that there used to be $7, $20, $40 and $200 silver strike denominations?

Of course, which strikes are "missing" from your collection depends on how you want to collect. I sincerely discourage any collector from trying to get a complete collection of Nevada silver strikes. That is, unless you have a collecting budget that's big enough to buy the equivalent of a luxury automobile.

What I do recommend is that you set guidelines for what you want to collect. One popular method of general purpose collecting involves one silver strike example from each casino that issued them. You can confine yourself to one city, with Las Vegas being the obvious most popular choice, or you can select your favorite casino, and try to get all the strikes it has ever issued. Yet another way is to collect one strike from each casino that you have personally visited. Yet another way to specialize is to collect by design, without regard to the casino that issued the strike. Interesting topics include railroads, automobiles, hotels, casinos, people, aircraft, slot club cards, slot machines, dice, cards, roulette wheels, or landmarks. All of these items have appeared in silver strike designs.

There are three ways to get silver strikes. You can win them, swap your duplicates with other collectors, or you can buy them. If you are swapping or buying, it's important that you know the approximate value of your collectibles, so that you get a fair deal.

Once you have your silver strikes, you'll want to protect them. The plastic capsules that the older strikes came in are not airtight, which can eventually lead to corrosion. You'll want to either store your strikes in an airtight container (I like cookie tins), or invest in plastic airtight replacement capsules. Next, you'll want to decide whether to display your collection. The main problem is that silver strikes are heavy, so you really can't put too many of them in a single frame. It's also difficult to find a good way to display both sides of a silver strike. You also want to protect your displayed strikes from UV light, including light from fluorescent lamps. The good news is that there are several dealers who sell such products.

Now let's talk about value. While there's nothing wrong with making an occasional profit, it shouldn't be your main goal. There are too many greedy people who have taken a lot of the fun out of collecting things like sports cards, Beanie Babies, Hot Wheels, and so on. Making a profit can become an obsession, with lying and cheating being taken for granted.

Who among us hasn't been a newcomer to any hobby? Unfortunately, it always seems like some of the first people you meet are out to cheat you, either by selling you junk at inflated prices, or trying to buy your valuable items at ridiculously low prices. These people take advantage of the fact that you don't have enough information to know the true value of a collectible, and they take advantage of your trusting nature. It doesn't matter if they claim to be trusted members of some club, which has a fancy code of ethics. These weasels troll for victims, and can even get angry if you don't fall for their cheap tricks. And don't look to this club for help if you find you've gotten a raw deal. You really should have the information you need before you do anything. Above all, be immediately suspicious when you see the word RARE used to describe a silver strike. Most of them simply aren't.

Another way to look at the big picture is by comparing a sport, such as golfing, to collecting silver strikes. A golfer can have decades of fun, pay lots of money for several sets of golf clubs, pay lots of money for greens fees, and pay lots of money for funny clothes that can't be worn anywhere except on a golf course. At the end of all these decades, he or she has plenty of fond memories of all the fun they had. Yet, after spending the same amount of money, over the same period of time, collectors somehow always think they should be making a profit!

Forget profit! Collect to have fun. Do it because you enjoy it. Keep in mind that silver strikes are a horrible investment. You'd generally be much better off keeping your excess money in bank accounts, or mutual funds. Remember that you have absolutely NO control over how much money it takes for you to win a silver strike from a slot machine. It's hilarious to hear people complaining about "tight" slot machines, and how they "should have won by now." It's called GAMBLING! Duh! The only sure thing is that, in the long run, playing in casinos, you will lose. Thus, think of your silver strike collecting money as entertainment. When you go to watch a movie, or see a play, or buy a new TV set, you don't expect to make a profit, do you?

On the other hand, collecting silver strikes can have the advantage of minimizing your expenses. You probably know by now that most people who go to casinos on vacation end up losing money. All they come home with are tacky souvenirs, and perhaps fond memories from pumping lots of money into slot machines. However, if the slots you play are silver strike machines, then you can at least come home with a handful of strikes, as opposed to nothing.

What can you do with the duplicates you won? It used to be that you could exchange your duplicates at the cage for other designs. Sadly, there are few casinos that will do this any more. So, your choices are to cash the strikes in at the cage, or take them home. If you take them home, you can later sell them on eBay, or swap them with other collectors for other designs. Seriously, I know how difficult it is to cash in strikes at the cage, but it really makes sense if you don't want to deal with the duplicates.

Again, I can't emphasize enough that your best approach to collecting silver strikes is to have FUN! Learn as much as you can about silver strikes -- knowledge is power. You can also learn a lot just by looking at as many eBay silver strike auctions as you can. Just keep in mind that a good collector guide will help you sort the hype from fact.