Welcome to silver strike collecting Craig. Yes, strikes can be rare for a variety of reasons:

*there were only a limited number intended to be produced (500 or less results in a significant increase in price)
*there were only a small number because the strike had a error in the design or production, which was subsequently corrected (e.g. wrong logo like the Circus Circus Las Vegas strike that has the Circus Circus Reno clown logo)
*there were only a small number because the design was not authorized by the copyright holder and the strike had to be pulled from the machines prematurely (e.g. Flamingo Rockettes)
*they are harder to get because they are only put into the machine at certain times of the year (e.g. Bellagio Christmas tree or Thanksgiving)
*there were very few of these strikes put into the machine relative to the others (usually a "chaser" strike in a blue, pink, yellow or red colored capsule, but now with the new multi-tube machine design, it could be because its in a smaller number of tubes, like the Pink Taco at the Hard Rock)

In addition, prices could be high not because a strike is more rare than others, but the demand for a certain design is greater (e.g. the Santa strike from the Palms reindeer series). I'm sure others on this board will think of some reasons I didn't.

Craig, now that you're getting into this hobby, you should consider joining our Silver Strikers Club. It's only $10/year, and you get a very informative newsletter plus the opportunity to meet with other collectors at the annual convention, or annual tournament. You can download an application at www.silverstrikers.com.

--Norm