I happened to be talking to Mel a couple of weeks ago (at Howdy's show in Minden) and he had mentioned that the chips were being replaced. Supposed to be the same design and and colors, but its going to be bi-metal instead of brass. BTW, the same was done with the Silver Smith (Wendover) brass chips. They supposedly also switched from brass to bi-metal (cheaper was what I was told). They look the same, but the weight is different.