production of 500 is not rare. BUT,,,,,even if we happen to know for sure 500 were made. That does not mean that today 500 are still out there. First off when the casino ended having the machines how many of the 500 were sent back for destruction. They then certainly were not even close to their face values in silver. So money back in the casino hopper by having them destroyed. Yes for sure collectors took some of those 500 home as collectables. And we have to remember then since these were in the machines, how many have very slowly been put in smelting pots. ? We have gone through two big silver rises in value so some certainly got melted through those times.

All said, if the mint run was 500 - how many really exist today we will never know. But market values sure show us that some can today be very common while others only come up for sale once a year or once every few years.

Just like chip collecting or any other collecting venue, collect what you like and think is a fair price. Let the re sale value be what it will be when that time comes. For most of us that is something our kids will have to figure out.

My 3 cents worth (as our country used to have a 3 cent silver coin)

Dennis