I'm sure they melt alot of silver strikes ... but obviously not all of them.

If they don't sell at the higher retail price ... they can sit on them as a hedge and melt them later if they expect silver prices to go even higher. I'm sure there will be several dealers with tables at the convention in June who will have strikes for sale... at or above melt prices. If they don't sell in Las Vegas, they may be turned in for scrap after the convention is over instead of sitting on them for another year.