A chip with a mintage of 500 or less may be more "rare" than a chip with a mintage of 1000, but the monetary value may not be as much. It is the casino chip collectors who determine how valuable a chip really is. The true collector collects chips for the enjoyment of the hobby, not to make a profit sometime down the road. There are people who are in it for the investment, and it is those individuals, I think, you are addressing. These people pay close attention to what chips are popular amoung chip collectors. They invest their money in those chips to hopefully make a profit from current and future chip collectors. The value of a chip to a collector is not just how much money he/she is willing to pay for a chip, or how rare it is, but also WHY he/she wants it for their collection. Some collect a certain denomination, some a certain animal, some a certain holiday, etc... Value is in the eye of the collector. I have many chips I paid a fair price for at the time I bought them that are not worth as much now. (That is speaking from a monetary standpoint.) Still, they are just as "valuable" to me as the day I bought them. I'm a collector of casino chips, not an investor.

(My 2 cents)

Glenn Albright
Proud member of the CCTGCC
LM-5921-128