I have been pushing for a uniform nubering system for over two years. I introduced my own universal system in an article in the club magazine (Spring 1998 issue) and have been improving on it since then. Most critics of uniform systems fall into two groups: those that want it to do too much, and those that want it to do too little. The "too much" group want it to do everything and then complain it is too complicated. A proper system should provide a base number that is short, easy to read, allows a knowledgeable collector to quickly identify the specific chip, or provides a collector lacking knowledge a quick guide to locating more info and identification of the chip. It should not contain detailed info as to such things as color, inserts, mold, and other details that should be obtained from a reference work. On the other hand, those proponents of of arbitrary number systems or similarly brief systems fail to take into account the word "universal". With hundreds of thousands of chhips and gaming materials issued worldwide, one would have to carry a giant index or a computer to ID a chip simply by a number. If our hobby is to meet the needs of the future it must find a way to standardize itself. This will not require authors to abandon their individual systems, but if the universal sytem is appropriate, they will ultimately adopt it themselves. Please get a copy of Black's new edition of his "bible" on AC chips. Archie was gracious enough to include a conversion table prepared by me converting his numbers to my proposed GUN universal numbers. The tables do not reflect an endorsement of the system by Archie, but is included as a generous means of showing how a new standardized system could work and could be introduced. For those interested I will include an explanation of my system on the next thread.