I recently acquired some new $100 chips, an El rancho and a Silver Slipper. I don't usually collect 100's, but I do have a few. I put newly acquired chips on some easels I have at my desk, and I leave them there for a bit, usually until some more chips show up.

I happened to have some very good SU chips on the easels when these came in. I left them all up for a few days.

The El rancho is a hub mold, the Silver Slipper is a C+J. As I look at these two chips, and compare them to the others, it is VERY apparent that the $100 chips are NEW. Besides having all the standard features (beautiful edges, absolutely no sign of wear, etc.) these chips seem to have a gloss to them. When natural light hits the chips at certain angles, they definitely shine.

I have never heard a discussion on this. I am wondering if some manufacturers apply something to the chips at the completion of the process that adds this shine, and it wears quickly, or is the shine just present when the process is over? Are chips buffed?

I think the reason why I noticed this is because these are black chips, and the shine pops off the surface. I have looked at a few very good $100 SU's and they don't shine like these.

Has anyone noticed this too? Is it reasonable to expect a "new" chip should have a shine to it? If most did, it could help evaluate/distinguish between SU's and New.

I am going to try a photo these to capture what I am seeing, but I am skeptical...I am no pro with a camera, and this is subtle. If I get useable results, I will post.