If I am understanding what you are saying, I will try to explain the value of TOURNAMENT CHIPS. Not the ones pictured above, as they are actually worth $100 each.

You buy in for $20, they give you 200 in tournament chips. There are 50 people that buy in. $20 x 50 = $1,000 in prize pool. There are 50x200 or $10,000 in chips on the table. If you win all the chips, you would recieve $400 cash or 40% of prize pool. The other $600 would break down by % to how ever many places they are paying. They probably gave you 6 $25's and 10 $5's chips to start. 16 chips divided by your possibe winnings of $400 is $25 per chip. I doubt if you could sell them for that much. If it was a $10 buy-in, the chips still value at $12.50 each.

Here is the BIG ONE. Many 1st time starters win poker tournaments. I would suggest you get friendly with the tournament director during the tournament and beg him for one of his stupid NCV's. Many of them will cough up a few.

Take this formula to the WSOP for a 2 1/2 million dollar prize pool.
Give you some idea of chip value. In a large tournament there are exactly the same $ amount as the prize pool or at least there better be.

Very few poker players would ever take an NCV from a tournament. Too many tournaments have been won by a player with 1 chip remaining. Jack "Treetop" Strauss won the WSOP with 1 chip. TRUE STORY!