Who is this independent 3rd for-profit party going to use to "certify" chips? Will it be the guy who thinks the '48 Thunderbird sm-key came from Las Vegas or the one who thinks it came from Cape Girardeau or the one who doesn't know? Seem THIS chip would be a perfect candidate for the so-called protection of slabbing. Since B.C.Wills carted their records off to the dump and we lack actual real-time eyeball testimony on this chip at this point, you could not creditably entomb this chip and that is typical of more than a few chips in the hobby. I'd rather spend my money on the actual chip thank you, rather than pay a mercenary "expert" to fiddle up a grade I couldn't ethically support anyway.

Will the grading industry use as its expert someone who is collecting chips while grading? Selling or trading chips while grading? How about someone who HAS no chips and no friends who do... maybe the guy that gives the daily grade to the same sports card everytime it's resubmitted.

As for the repair of chips, the club is investigating this practice at the moment. We managed to protect the hobby from bogus brass core chips and I cannot imagine that any slabbing entity would have done that as effectively as WE did. Or even come close. Or even care.

Well, daylight's burning and I should wind this thing up. I don't know you at this point Roland and this isn't really an attempt to embarrass or attack you personally. I just really care about this hobby and I don't believe slabbing offers anything but dollar signs for the slabbers. Whew! Bye now...