After returning from my usual weekend in Atlantic City, my email box was full of requests for my 5-point grading system that I had mentioned in a bb post last week.

I am reproducing (in this post) what I have started to put together almost a year ago ... during the heated "slabbing controversy". Admittedly, this is not the answer to everyone's considerations ... but it's a beginning that I believe the club officers could pick up on and develop a system that most chip collectors could live with .... eventually adopting an "Official CC & GTCC Grading System" that could eventually be endorsed by the club. The club would then be in control of the slabbers and 3rd party graders on what are acceptable grades in our hobby. This is still a "work-in-progress" and should not be interpreted as the final draft.

Grade

UNCIRCULATED: (New)
As delivered from manufacturer to casino, or from casino cage to gaming table for initial distribution... or as received from a New Issues Service provider. Very sharp edges. Edge inserts uniformly nice and crisp and straight. No scratches on metal center inlays. While it is generally accepted that perfectly aligned center inlays are more desirable to a collector and may affect price, centering does not affect grade. Off-center inlays do exist on uncirculated chips. More recently developed chips are being issued with rounded edges; mostly roulettes and no cash value chips. After gaining hands-on experience in handling all types of chips, these round edge issues are easily distinguished from their squared edge counterparts.

ALMOST UNCIRCULATED: (Excellent)
Like new. Still sharp edges. Very slight evidence of minor table wear. May still exhibit lustre in mold depressions. Bold hot stamp.
(TOKENS): Near Mint State. Minimum circulation. A couple of minor surface rubs or scratches in fields are acceptable. Still has most lustre as exhibited on uncirculated specimens.

CIRCULATED: (Very Fine or Lightly Used)
Edges beginning to dull. Some slight soiling. Hot stamp beginning to wear. May have one or two very minor rim nicks. Minor scratches may appear on coin inlay chips. More durable chips such as Bud Jones and CHIPCO's that usually would not exhibit rim nicks may show faint signs of edge wear at this stage.
(TOKENS): Above average, nice looking specimen. May have several scratches on fields and main devices.

WORN: (Considerably used)
Uniform wear. Edges more rounded. Still has an attractive appearance. Moderate soiling. Some hot stamp letters or denomination worn or missing. May exhibit multiple or larger rim nicks or multiple scratches on Bud Jones coin inlays. CHIPCO's will show noticeable fading around edges of chip.
(TOKENS): Well worn, may be dull, perhaps tarnished, darkened or oxidized, may have a few heavier scratches and edge bumps but all devices, dates, legends, mintmarks, are readable.

POOR: (Junk … except for rarity)
Generally, unacceptable for most collections. Used as a filler until a better specimen is obtained. Edges worn like bicycle tires. Hot Stamp completely worn off, may have to tilt chip to read casino name or denomination.. Molds well worn. Center inlay(s) may be curled, cracked or completely missing one side or both. Wear on CHIPCO's extend well into the design area of the chip with the rim area being completely white.
(TOKENS): Poor, pitted, planchet clips, dug, corroded, etc. A real beat-up dog of a token; not worthy of most collections.