Well, repos marked with a "W" will be recognized as fakes and will be the bad investment you mentioned but consider some of the other chips already made and sold. The difference between a canceled Crystal Bay $5 brass core and uncanceled is K($60-$74) vs. Q($200-$249). Other chips in unlisted colors could be puffed as a new find and moved at whatever the market would bear.

It does stretch the bounds of good sense to believe that investment was made in the cores and plastic added in new colors just for fun.