.. I guess I assume that anyone with the sense to find their way onto this board would also have the common sense to know that a chip with a closed date on it could not possibly have been a real chip in play ........

Have you ever played in a casino with a chip that had their impending closing date on it .... ??

Maybe I am missing something myself, but I tend to give people alot of credit for having common sense when it comes to matters like these without feeling the need to intervene ....