FAQ

How to distinguish casino chips from poker and souvenir chips?

As a rule, casino chip has its value and name of the gambling institution. Less often, information about the city and/or the country where the casino is located. Also casino chips differ in quality of their manufacturing. As a rule, souvenir chips are made of common plastics with shiny inserts. Other technologies are used in manufacturing casino chips to ensure their good resistance to wear and protection against forgery.

How to estimate the chip value?

There is no precise formula by which this or that chip is valued. Rather, as in Asia, the thing costs that much that a buyer is ready to pay for it. The most expensive chips I bought cost me not more than 100 dollars apiece. And I didn’t sell chips cheaper than 5 and more than 50 dollars. One may also visit eBay auction to evaluate a chip and look up prices for similar lots.

If a chip, say, has an inscription of 1,000, so, it costs one thousand?

No! Only in an acting casino the chip costs as much as it is written on it. If the casino is closed (or the chip is not all from a casino), the chip may be evaluated only by its value for collectors. I.e., if you ever forget in your pocket a chip of 100 dollars and the casino is closed and it is impossible to come there and change the chip, you will hardly sell it for 100 dollars.

Is it allowed to take chips away from casino?

It depends on the policy of a particular gambling institution. In most cases casinos are interested in guests to keep chips for memory. After all, the cost of making a chip is less than the value indicated on it and additional marketing in the form of something with the casino symbol in the player’s pocket gives additional income. But there are low cost casinos which disallow to take chips away. I have often seen direct notices on casino walls which directly specify such rules. Yet, I have always taken away chips for my collection.

How and where to store chips?

Albums for coins of suitable size are more convenient for storing chips. I use Leuchtturm Optima Classic with M-15 sheets to store my chips. I use other sheets for slot machine tokens and custom chips.

It’s better to store chips in a dry dark place. Once I lived in the Philippines for a long time and kept chips there, finally, they became damp and lost its appearance and became faded.

Why are some chips looking very dirty?

There are two popular opinions on the matter whether it is necessary or not to clean the chips which got to the collection. I think, it’s not necessary. Firstly, all this dirt is like a centuries-old dust on the artifact. Secondly, sometimes, cleaning can damage the chip or significantly change its appearance (for example, it can leave some spot). Thirdly, of course, I do not want to bother and take all this cleaning trouble.