Your remark of "Here's hoping it continues!" really jumped out at me. Is the sale of chips in the $30K+ range really good for the hobby? Sure, people with great older collections and lots of money are having a ball, but what about the effect on the newer collectors.

Like many of us, I started collecting chips because it was fun and cheap (relatively speaking when compared to coins and such). Ten years ago, there were not alot of chips which were priced so high they were not obtainable. This was something which really made me think I could be a significant collector in something which was fun. But if I were to start now, I would have to think twice.

For instance, I used to collect Nevada chips, with one specific collection of Hacienda chips (no idea why). I had about 30 Hacienda chips going back for some time and I hoped to someday complete my sub-collection. At one of the shows, I saw a beautiful old Hacienda chip with a whopping price of $3,500. I knew right then and there I would probably never own that chips, and therefor I would never complete my collection. Long story short, I dumped my Hacienda chips, along with the Nevada stuff.

Now I'm not saying the market should not determine price. As a CPA who studied finance and economics, I know reality. These chips will find a buyer and seller at some price. Love of this hobby or not, everything is for sale! I just wonder if this might hurt us in the long run?

How many new or moderate collectors are going to be turned away when they see chips selling in the tens of thousands of dollars?