"I don't quite understand the logic of those who say "if they are still redeemable they are not obsolete" or if a redemption period has passed."

I agree with that part of your logic, Archie. Obsolete is not a definition that must change as you cross jurisdictional boundaries. Some casinos will redeem just about anything presented to them. Circus Circus, for example, has a policy of redeeming any chip they've ever issued. And with the proliferation of our hobby, more and more cage managers can recognize a chip worth over face, and will GLADLY give a patron face value for it. But if I redeem an obsolete chip, Circus Circus does not then offer it for sale or put in with the current chips.

Your contention that a chip is obsolete if the casino is out of them is simply ludricous, particularly for an LE that is deliberately made in limited quantities in the hope it will sell out. I don't care if it's Nevada or AC. What happens if I buy a rack of LE $5 chips when they come out, hold them for a year, then take them back? If the casino will give me face value for them AND offer them for sale again, they were never obsolete. Period. End of story. And I don't care how much you want to second guess whether a casino would sell them if some came back after they sold out. With LEs, the only way we collectors can reliably call them obsolete is if a casino makes their intent to not resell clear, by either a redemption process or going out of business, or whatever.