So this is something I just found out about too. I asked ChatGPT to look into this for me.

I'm very surprised and very happy now that I know this.

The Le Paulson Noir chips were the result of a three-way collaboration:

- J5 Design (John Faulhaber) created the full artwork package

- Sidepot Gaming partnered with Paulson to release the product line to the home-game market

- Paulson manufactured the chips and produced the special Paradise (a.k.a. “pineapple”) mold, which was used exclusively for Le Noir and for no other Paulson series

The mold itself originated from a design contest Sidepot hosted, and Paulson tooled it specifically for the Le Noir project. The combination of a one-off mold, J5’s artwork, and a limited production run gives the Le Noir chips their collectible appeal today.

“Le Noir — J5 design, Sidepot release, Paulson Paradise mold. One-off production.”