Collecting, trading and selling casino chips is a popular business. If you brought home a few poker chips from your last casino trip, and you've decided to begin a collection, you will find lots of company with other collectors who enjoy chip and casino-memorabilia collecting.
There are more than 2,500 collectors who participate in collecting through membership in the Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens Collectors Club (CCGTCC), plus many more gaming collectors who pursue the hobby on a casual basis. Often a collector will specialize in certain denominations, for example, $1 chips only or by locations such as, Las Vegas or Atlantic City chips only.
So how do you know when and what chips casinos have issued?
Several current publications focus on chip collecting: CCGTCC publishes a quarterly magazine, which includes a list of recent chips issued by casinos. Additional publications/chip lists are available from dealers. For advance notice of Nevada chips to be released, the Nevada Casino Control Commission sells subscriptions for a monthly list of chips approved for issuance by Nevada casinos.
Some collectors build their casino or poker chip collections by personally visiting casinos and purchasing current chips or tokens from the casino's tables, slots or cashier's cages. However, it's not usually convenient for most active collectors to “make the rounds” to all the casinos, especially if limited edition or special event collectibles are desired.
Rare Chips
Obsolete chips must be collected in the collector/dealer/auction after-market, since these types of collectibles are not available directly from a casino. Some scarce and rare items are in great demand, related to their supply, so you will occasionally see a chip offered at many times its “face value”. However, a rare item is only worth what a buyer and seller agree that it’s worth. Certain chips have risen substantially in value in recent times, but be aware that values can go down, too. For a new collector, be sure you are knowledgeable and comfortable in assessing value before jumping into rare chip and token collecting.
Casino & Poker Chips on eBay
eBay is an online Internet auction site. Anyone can register and sell items, or buy items, using the Internet. The auctions are arranged by categories and sub-categories. Casino chips are under the category COLLECTIBLES; subcategory CASINO; subcategory CHIPS.
Chip surfaces
Linen: the chip surface is covered with a grid of tiny little bumps.
Recessed: The opposite of linen. The surface is covered with a grid of tiny little indentions.
Satin: The surface feels smooth to the touch and is covered with a very slight mottled texture. This texture allows for much greater detail in the artwork.
Slick: The surface is smooth, like glass.
