I would always carry my chips on an air trip, Clyde. You may need to talk to someone with a convention table to see how they handle larger quantities than you can reasonably carry. The new airline rule of two bags and a size limit is going to impact me on the next trip. I don't know whether they will allow me to carry on two bags plus the metal luggage cart I usually take along.

I ALWAYS bypass the xray machine and discreetly ask for a hand search. You will fail the xray check anyway and no reason to go into a long involved discussion on what you are carrying in front of other passengers. I have always found the security people to be glad to honor this request and there's always a private room you can go to before you open your binders and boxes for all to see. It also helps to have a "business" card that shows you are a chip collector or dealer. Sometimes this gets you by with just a cursory check as soon as they see what you are carrying.

If you really need to ship a large quantity of expensive chips, I would use US Registered Mail. You can ship just about any value if you are willing to pay for the insurance. Should be able to mark it Hold at Post Office and you can ID yourself and pick it up when you get there. I shipped coins with a very significant value this way when I moved a few years ago and didn't want to carry them in my car through several overnight stops

DonL