Another good laugh on eBay. More false, preposterous, exaggerated auction descriptions. I used to wonder if the sellers knew how false their write-ups are. I used to write the dealers. I don’t bother anymore.

To view the auction, click:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=204932800

You can view the picture of the 5 wonderful <g> chips below.

Here is part of the dealer’s description:
“A good grouping to add to your 'antique collection'. (2) Bakelite inlaid hearts and a set of (3) 'Horse and

Rider' by Lowe. The set is one each: red, white and blue they are made of a hard plastic with a raised

design. These are from the early 1900's (never to be made again) which is what makes them so valuable to

those who cherish the craftsmanship of old. My policy is NO MAILING FEES so what you bid IS all you

will PAY. A nice opportunity to enlarge your antique section of your collection. HAPPY HOLIDAYS.”

Nice the way he pays the postage..........Meanwhile, the chips are hardly collectible, the heart chips are not bakelite, the horse-rider chips are not early 1900’s (more like way after WW II) and are not “so valuable.”

What is particularly funny to me is that long ago I came to the conclusion that these jockey-on-horse chips are the MOST COMMON design clay composition (not “plastic”, by the way) poker chips ever made (except maybe for the interlocking ones, which are not much of a design), and here this guy says they are “so valuable.” (Incidentally, Ebay buyers don’t seem to be paying more than 25 cents each for them, even with chip cases thrown in for free. Here the starting bid is $7; no bids yet and auction is almost over.)

Just before seeing this ad, I was smiling the way everything is called bakelite today.

(Lowe didn’t make the chips, by the way. Some company with a name like Composite, Inc. in Newark NJ did. Lowe just distributed them, along with everyone else in the country.)