Jay - While some people think this is a bad idea it is not going to stop the melting of some strikes, just check ebay or jackpot on any given day and you see that so many strikes go unsold. Lets face facts the greater number of strikes in the early days had over 1000 struck and up to 1750 or more struck, since there doesn't appear to be 1000 plus collectors who do you think is going to buy the strikes ? With the price of silver still going up (and I don't see it retreating below $10 per oz.)the best way to recover some of your money is to send the centers for melt.
I have said in the past that when the silver price gets to a point I can sell the centers for over $18.00 per strike I will sell my errors and rare strikes and melt the rest.
The thing that seems to be driving the strike collectors now is that we are still getting a few red caps that are .999 silver and the $200 strikes, there just doesn't seem to be the demand there used to be for strikes now that they are clad.
One thing for sure is it would be great to turn the clock back to the beginning of strikes and start all over again, it was a fun time and a great chase.
Walt