Slabbing. A chip is submitted to a commercial grading company, who, for a fee, will examine the chip and render an opinion on the grade of the chip. This grade is based on the features and defects of the chip. The chip is then encapsulated in a tamper-proof plastic holder, commonly called a slab and labeled with the pertinent information. The fee is proposed to be a minimum of $10 with higher fees for higher value chips or speedier service. This process is pervasive in coin collecting and sports cards but has only recently appeared in our hobby. There has been much debate about this since the start of 2000.

I'm a charter member of the SlabFree chapter of CCGTCC. Check out www.slabfree.com or feel free to email me for more info, any questions or comment. Be aware that this debate has been epic on TheChipBoard!