What is the chip worth? I can only go by the books since I don't own one or have ever seen one sold.

Price in TCR is $175 for an uncancelled piece
Price in "Official..." is $125/$250/$375. Cancelled, the value (according to the guide is 10 to 15% of the uncancelled price)

My concern is that, based on the opening minimum bid and its accompying description, one might be led to believe that the chip is not cancelled but instead has some "zigzag overprint", possibly an error, which might actually increase its value.

The value of the piece is not as important as the fact that, in my opinion, it has not been made clear that the chip has been cancelled.