Although I was not collecting chips when Bill Borland was still around, and I am no expert on anything he did, I have read dozens of posts about him over the years and have gleaned quite a bit of his story. The easy answer is that some of what he did (the blue book, for example) was clearly good for the hobby, whereas some of what he did (his counterfeits) were bad for the hobby, whether he intended them to be or not. His commemoratives have also clearly created some troubles. I have seen many new collectors proudly show their new purchase over the years only to discover they bought a commemorative, or discuss it some time after the fact. Although there is some collector value to them (which, like many things, seems to have taken a hit in the recession), it's not what the buyers expected to receive when they bought them, which has to leave some bad feelings, or disappointment, to some extent.

I have no idea which outways the other. The ongoing effects of the harm he caused, however, seems to have outlasted much of the good.

Michael Siskin