Thanks Andy, I did email him, but not because I see anything derogatory about the discussion so far.

Surely, the statement "$4,600 in fact value" in the context of his overall description is such a petty point that I'm sure it's not the real issue.

There are some valid reasons for conducting a private auction, that would make a neat discussion. Sometimes it's done for nefarious reasons, but quite often, it's a good idea for both seller and bidders.

It will be interesting to see what the real story behind these chips is, assuming this guy knows what it is.

Michael