Some collections may be devalued if the box is revealed!

**Is Protecting Chip Values the CCA's Responsibility?**

In discussing the reported million-dollar collection with other collectors, several have suggested to me that perhaps the reason the CCA hasn't released a detailed inventory is because doing so could seriously affect the value of collectible casino chips.

I understand the concern, but I don't agree with the reasoning.

Anyone who has collected casino chips for any length of time knows that hoards turn up. Boxes of chips are discovered, old casino inventories surface, and longtime collectors and dealers pass away leaving behind quantities of chips nobody knew existed. Sometimes those discoveries have a substantial effect on the value of chips we thought were rare.

That's part of collecting. Those chips existed whether we knew about them or not.

The Museum of Gaming History's ChipGuide has published Hoard Alerts and warnings about chips found in quantity or used in home poker games. Those warnings can certainly affect perceived rarity and market value. Yet the information is published because collectors should know what exists.

So why should a major donation to the CCA be treated any differently?

The CCA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving gaming history and educating collectors. It doesn't exist to protect the financial value of our collections or keep discoveries secret because somebody might lose money.

If a chip believed to be rare turns out to exist in the hundreds, that's historical information worth documenting, whether we like what it does to the price or not.

To be clear, I have no evidence that the CCA is withholding information to protect chip values. This is simply an explanation some collectors have offered, and one I strongly disagree with.

In my opinion, the responsibility of an organization dedicated to gaming history is to document and preserve that history accurately, not to protect collector investments.

**History doesn't change because we choose not to reveal it.**