God I hope not!

For it would sooner or later come down to the current COIN grading system. YECH!

I put the following paragraph in my guide from day one...

.....The collecting of Premium tokens is a slow and steadily growing hobby. Currently, there are few true premium token collectors, making accurate pricing in this guide difficult. However, most pricing in this guide is contrived from dealer pricing at various shows and from trades that have been realized on various computer Bulletin Boards. Experience has shown that prices will vary greatly from dealer to dealer, so a dealer's price list is not truly representative of the market value.

.....Pricing in this guide is intended as just that! A GUIDE. This guide is not intended as a price list or a way to establish fair market value.

.....Listed Prices are for Mint Proof-like Tokens!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now with several changes at Anchor and the mints, we've began to see some defective strikes as the one which KINGDINOSAUR submitted to Gary Strathos's web site which I have pictured here.

Quality is a subject according to KINGDINOSAUR which Anchor doesn't see as a problem.

But back to grading of Silver Strikes. I've attempted to keep my guide and database as simple as possible. That's why, from the first issues, I've put that disclamer in the guide. I also have the disclaimer that it's a guide.

I for one wouldn't like to see a grading system in Silver Strikes. But what about these defects? I say take them back to the casino and ask for another token of the exact same design and tell them why. Maybe the casino's will ask for better quality control(doubtful).

The Strikes can come in many different types from frosted to unfrosted proof-like. I for one haven't scrutined the tokens in my collection as some collectors and dealers currently are doing now. I just wonder how many tokens the collectors have checked for defects?

With these tokens, I've worried more about the outer rings with their possibility of being swapped than looking for defects. I just looked at my TI Millennium token and do see a defect on it, however I can't see this defect in my scan of it although it's obvious.

The silver strikes are won out of a machine and should be mint proof-like, regardless if there is a defect, as I suspect these defects we're seeing are from their minting or happened at the mint, most likely. I have heard one rumor of someone returning strikes after defacing them with gouges. My Flamingo year of the tiger no mint mark also has a defect but I've seen several that had the same defect.

Until the numbers of Silver Strikes and collectors grow to the numbers of coin collectors, I think we as Casino token and Silver Strike collectors should do everything we can to avoid the universally accepted system of coin grading.

I am sure we collectors can tell the difference between a coin that has remained out of it's holder for a long period of time. Those outer rings sure turn an awful looking brown, don't they?