Damon; I'll make a serious attempt to tackle your controversial question regarding grading. It has been my experience that most chippers I know, who have even a minor background in collecting coins, are reluctant to encourage the grading abuses that have existed for years in the coin hobby to rear it's ugly head and spoil our "fun" chip hobby. As the old saying goes, "once the camel has his nose under the tent, it is not long before the whole camel is inside." As you have seen for yourself, some chippers have a very difficult time being honest with themselves as to what is "rare" and what is not. Even after being chastised for their false presentations, many of them continue to describe their common chip offerings as being "rare".... as if they were the only ones with these so-called "rare" chips to sell. How does anyone expect some of these same deceptive folks to be very honest when it comes to grading? With tough grading comes tough pricing. There is one chip catalog currently on the market, which touts itself as being the "official" guide, that gets into grades of chips and simply increases the price one increment for each grade....on EVERY chip that is listed, rare or otherwise. For example, a Very Fine chip may catalog in this otherwise fine publication at $50. The same chip in Extra Fine chip may be listed at $100. An Uncirculated identical chip jumps another $50 to $150. Who will be the "official" arbiter as to which chips are uncirculated and which chips are Extra Fine (or in coin parlance, AU)? Who among us has not cleaned a slightly soiled chip in an attempt to improve its appearance? I'll confess that I have, but not to deceive anyone. It simply a matter of esthetics. Other collectors prefer the natural dirt and grime that builds up inside their hats & canes and other chip recesses. Given a choice, most collectors would choose the nice appearance of an expertly cleaned chip at the same price over one that is soiled. Sometimes, the dirty chip may actually be in nicer condition than the cleaned specimen. When it comes to Limited Editions, there is little, if any grading difference (as far as wear goes) on these chips that were snapped up as soon as they were released for sale. There may be slight to radical differences in centering of inlays and uneven ragged edge inserts and such, but very little in the way of wear since 99% of them never saw any use in actual play. Yet, one will read all the different glowing adjectives describing these chips in order to boost the asking price. There have been many relatively recent threads previously posted on this controversial subject. To those new-comers to this bb interested in reviewing some of these previous threads, I would suggest clicking on "archives" at the top of this page, and type "grading" in the search box. Chippers do not need a grading system to tell them the differences between chips that are worn with rounded edges like bicycle tires and which ones have nice sharp squared edges. Surely a worn hot stamp chip can be distinguished with the naked eye from one that has bold hot stamp imprints. Nicks and scratches are easily detectable .... maybe not on ebay, but certainly at some of the popular shows that are held around the country where one has the opportunity to pick up a chip for close examination and scruitiny. Prices that double and triple for insignificant differences in higher "grades" are absurd. My suggestion is to find a few chip dealers whom you can trust, who have a reputation for being honest and fair in their dealings with customers. (BTW; There are lots of them out there.) Those who resort to gimmickery and false claims such as "rare", when it is obvious to everyone that quite the contrary is true, should be avoided like the plague. If I've offended anyone with my candid opinion on this subject .... that was my intention. One-liner comebacks at attempts to be humorous are not encouraged. Serious differences in opinions however, are always welcome.