Archie,
I feel the debate got out of hand. More than just slabbing but with issues on control- of "our" club. Yes slabbing should of been talked about here. Yes it should also be decided upon by the club, not just the officers. This is a huge issue! If you dont think I am for the hobby that's your decision. It would not be worthwhile for me to try to change your mind or any others on here that don't already believe I have put a lot into this hobby. More than most will ever know or appreciate. The work involved in accomplishing what we did with a book of the scope that it now is, was unbelievable! We feel we have grown the hobby & collectors have become wiser in their chip knowledge. The hobby still needs lots of growth & the good thing is, there is room for it. There are 1,000's of chips out there to still reasonably collect. There are very rare chips going for 1,000's of dollars as well, but there aren't that many & not everyone collecting could afford to always be buying these 4 digit chips. SO everyone should stop worrying so much about slabbing & the chips being cost prohibitive. I doubt someone is going to slab chips that are only worth a few bucks anyways.
I agree when the economy declines so will luxury items like collectibles.
VALUE VS. FUN. I dont lay awake at night worrying that I spent a lot of money on a chip. I did lay awake worrying that I wouldn't be the high bidder for the Sands arrowdie $5 I bought! It was FUN bidding, buying, & now owning that chip. This was the the first to break 10 grand! It is more than just FUN to know I own one of the best chips ever made too! I of course didn't even think of this as an investment when laying out this money. Serious! I was just maybe the "crazy" one who had to have something! Speculate? No need to. It's worth the money just to own it! Now tell me Archie have you spent over 10,000 on your entire collection? I bet you have. I should hope you would want to at least get your money back but then again look how much it costs to have FUN. Go to Vegas for a few days, loose 10 G's & have nothing but FUN. WOuld it be FUN to brag about losing or more fun to show off 100 nice $100 chips you picked up. There arent many chips at 10 grand so might as well get current chips that can be cashed in that's a much safer investment if a person was to look at this hobby as one. I dont own all the current 100's by the way, only the ones I like.