Lets go back to 2003 when the Four Queens were minting their $200's, Kings of Clubs, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Joker with a mintage of 100. The NGC was swamped with phone call complaints that collectors were not able to get any $200 Strikes from their casino because they went out the door in the first few hours of handing them out at the main cage. The line extended into the isle and interferred with the patrons who were there to gamble. But the demand and complaints were so great that the NGC said that the mintage had to be a MINIUM OF 200 where it is right now. I am sure that some of the $200 Strike collectors sold off their collections because the program was haulted by NGC. I know of a few $200 collectors that sold their collections but some of them also sold their $7, $10, $20, $28, $40 and their $200's because they gave up collecting all together. I stated that there were between 100 and 200 collectors of $200 Strikes, it could be 110 or even 150, but if my estimate is wrong, then why did the NGC say that the mintage had to be a minium of 200! I don't know if you remember the complaints that were posted on this BB by people who actually flew from the East Coast to Las Vegas just to get their $200 at the Four Queens and when they got there they were told that there weren't any left, they were all gone. They even stopped the $200's from being numbered because people wanted the early numbers, because in coin collecting the early mintage was more desirable. All I am saying is that the NGC changed the amount of mintage to 200 for a reason, and I don't think it is because they want the Casino's to have a surplus that they can't get rid of.
Jerry Sacco SS#673