Hey Archie,

The caution that I would also add to your post is that slabbing of chips could also happen, if some dealers or advocates of a grading system "convince" a third party (or if they are the third party?) that this is a good idea and furthermore that it is a good investment. Recall that there are a few dealers that are in this hobby to make a profit, and how better to maximize the potential profits other than showing a real example - (dare I say a slabbed example) of a high end chip?

Let me reiterate (or state my opinion on) what happened to the coin world, when the Investors were "told" that inventing in high end coins was a "solid" investment, the prices of coins in all grades increased to the point where the small collectors, even the young kids that are needed to sustain any hobby, were priced out of the market. After a while the investors saw that the demand for these high-end coins just weren't there, and subsequently the coins were "dumped" for the next "sure thing" investment...

I've been a coin collector since 1968 when my uncle got me interested in coins... Once I started working and started to make a "decent" salary I was looking forward to buying some of the coins I could only dream about while growing up - well unfortunately I was only able to get a few of these pieces before the prices sky rocketed... I still have them. I am trying to get my son interested in coins - which wasn't a hard thing to do, as he LOVES MONEY!!!. He has a small collection of the state quarters, and 5 casino chips... Can never start them too young... I only hope I can continue to help nurture his interest to grow in both casino chips and coins...

Regards,

Dick