Hi Archie…

I must say that I find it amazing how communication breaks down in so many ways, what with misinterpretation and misreading of comments. Many on this board are guilty of this, some on an ongoing basis and some on occasion, and what is sometimes misread as an accusation can be, in fact, something else entirely.

For example, if you will re-read my previous post you will probably see that my comment about the imposition of one’s opinion was directed not at you but at your mystery BB poster. There is no reason to be defensive about this, then.

Additionally, you have misread my response to your initial post, which you summarize above as "all I said in response was that chips are not 'minted', but that coins and tokens were". I went back and checked the original post in the thread and did not notice where the poster implied that chips were "minted". I therefore logically interpreted your comment to reference his usage of the term "mint" as a condition of a chip, and decided to comment on it… and I merely stated that I felt the term could be validly used in this way.

You further state that "I believe that reference was accurate then and it still is now. Some may disagree with that candid assessment", although, as far as I can tell, no one has ever taken issue with that truism, and your original comment seemed a non sequitur within the context of the thread.

On the dialogue part… I agree with you 100% regarding a chip-specific terminology set. I am in no way stuck on any condition verbiage, although for my own purposes I have found it valuable to use some descriptions and have developed my own set. The Cadillac reference was, I will restate, verbatim from the Cambridge Dictionary, and not my example. (Interestingly, they have changed the definition and example phrase today… the definition now reads "If something is in mint condition it is perfect, as if new." The example phrase is "CD player for sale, brand new and in mint condition - £150".) If you personally choose to make a connection between the adjective "mint" and noun "mint", that is your prerogative. I personally don't use "fine" to describe the condition of a chip because it implies to me paying a speeding ticket.

But seriously... uncirculated, new, perfect, exceedingly good, unblemished, flawless, etc. all work for me. If a concensus is ever reached, I will be the first to adjust my database.

Finally, I believe that Webster’s reference to "as if fresh from a mint" is for etymological reasons. This is probably the derivation of the adjective, but clearly it can be and is used to indicate condition relating to things other than coins and tokens.

….Jay

P.S. I'll excuse it... but it was not a pun (look THAT up in Websters!!)