Interesting thread yesterday about roulettes and edge spots. It lead me to type this up, which I felt deserved a separate post, so here is what I have to say about inlaid chips, etc.:

(1) The lighthouse chip, below, is another common, generic plain inlaid poker chip WITH EDGE SPOTS. Sorry, but no dupes. I don’t think I have another example of this type of chip (plain mold) with edge spots, although, who knows? Like the rest of you, I have things piled away that I don’t remember anymore.

(2) I don’t know what use it does to talk about PAPER inlays as identifying chips. Both the litho Crest and Seals and the plain inlays all seem to have a paper base, but are laminated with a plastic-like cover. Thus we feel the plastic. All inlays, or virtually all, seem to be either laminated paper or plain plastic.

(3) I hope the following will help the terminology of inlaid chip issues. This is how I understand things:
(a) “Inlaid” chips and “inlay” chips are same thing.

(b) All inlaid chips are composed of two things -- the clay part and the inlay part.

(c) Inlays can be divided into two parts in this respect -- whether the inlay has printing on it, or it does not have printing on it. Those with printing on it are called “litho inlays”, like the Espanol chip below. Note that NONE of the clay peeks through the round disk/decal/inlay. The round disk is yellowish paper (let’s say) which is printed on with the red words and picture. It is then laminated. I repeat this very important thing: NONE OF THE CLAY PEEKS THROUGH THE ROUND YELLOWISH INLAY.

(d) the other two inlaid chips pictured below are NOT litho inlays. I call them “plain inlays” -- “plain” in the sense that they are of one color (usually white), plain in the sense that there is no design on the inlays. The picture or design or letters are seen by the contrast between the color of the clay and the color of the inlay. For that reason I sometimes call them “profile” or “silhouette” inlays (words I coined).

(e) .Both the Lighthouse chip and the Joy chip are plain inlays, as noted above. Those with round inlays like the Lighthouse one are referred to by U S Playing Card Co. as Large Center inlaid chips. (Note that the center of the inlay --the lighthouse-- is die cut out and discarded.).................Chips like the Joy chip are called Small Center inlays by USPC. (Note how “Joy” lettering (unusual that red is used, by the way) has been die cut out, and it is not discarded; it is used for the inlay.) I mention these things so that you are aware that some of the plain inlays are round with cut-out centers, and that for others the cut-out centers are used for the inlays. I doubt that the words “large center” inlays and “small center” inlays will catch on.

(f) Finally, Crest and Seal inlay has come to mean a clay chip that has (1) litho inlay, and (2) a plain (flat) rim mold (that is, no embossed rim mold such as hat&cane, hub, smallkey, etc.). The Espanol chip below is a typical Crest and Seal chip.

I hope this clarifies things for new collectors.

Robert