... Archie? How is the removal of cigarette burns fundamentally different from any other repair of a damaged chip?

Why is this OK and other repairs are not?

And if someone removes a cigarette burn from a chip, is it thereafter necessary to reveal that fact to anyone who obtains the chip by trade or purchase?

Don't misunderstand -- I see nothing wrong with removing cigarette burns (or any other removable defect). I clean every chip in my collection before I put it into permanent storage and don't mind abraiding a little of the surface on occasion to make a chip look nicer (though I generally wouldn't do it by rubbing the chip on the sidewalk ).

Just wondering where the line is, 'cause I don't see it.

----- jim o\-S