Description: $5 (not £5) Sportsman Club - London.
Lg-Key, maroon w/ 6 1/4 mustard w/ gold hot stamp.

Now, I've been collecting material from the UK long enough to know there have been chips (on several molds) where the pigment from the £ denomination and club name were removed and restruck with a $ denomination (still not certain why), but this piece is in its original state ($5 hot stamp).

I've heard "Card Room" stories (which is easy to believe) and "US Forces in England" stories... to "error" and "Junket" stories.

Some of the pieces in some of our collectione are known to have entered the USA via tourests traveling in the UK during the 1970s... but they have no idea why the $ sign. I've also asked croupiers at sea and in the Bahamas who have worked the London clubs for as long as 40-years and they have no idea why the $ sign. I've also asked gaming; nothing!

The sad part is I didn't make note of where I got this example (about 10-years ago).

JB