I haven't a clue about the legality...but (IMHO) at the point that you have "repaired" the chip by filling in a drill hole or by "cleaning" a cancellation stamp off, YES you have done something unethical and wrong....regardless of intent, and YES (if a member) you should be disciplined by the club.

The cancellation mark (be it a drill hole, a hot stamp, or a notch) is an integral part of the chip. Removing that mark, for whatever reason, makes a dramatic change in the appearance of the chip....thus in the percieved value.

Suppose the FAA spray paints "defective-do not use" on a plane engine. Suppose a museum curator cleans off the warning so that it will look nicer on display in his aviation museum. Suppose, before the engine is taken to the museum, a mechanic comes along and installs that engine in a plane. Did the curator do anything wrong? Did the mechanic do anything wrong? Would you want to be on that plane?

Yes, that's an extreme example, and it's not likely that it will happen. However, it IS likely that, at some point in time, many (or all) of the "repaired" brass core chips will be offered for sale for the price of chips in "excellent" condition as opposed to "cancelled".....after all, they're not drilled.

We have a 25¢ brown Shenandoeh chip, weave mold, in our collection. We also have a $500 Holiday International CIC lavender, non-incused chip, and a $100 black CIC from the Castaways, and a $2 Mizpah. None of these chips were purchased as "fake" "imitation" or anything but genuine casino chips. The Castaways chip must have had a lot of people fooled for a long time, because it was only recently that I read (on TCB) that it's a fake. The Shenandoah and the Holiday International chips have long been known to be fake....but I didn't know it when I bought them (I'm sure the dealer knew it...and for that reason I've never bought from him again).

You've mentioned that you can tell the "remanufactured" chips from genuine ones...but that's only if you know to look! It's easy to tell the difference between an incused chip and a non-incused chip....but if you don't know the non-incused is a fake, you'll still get ripped off.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of dishonest people in the world....and the "remanufactured" brass core chips will give some of those people another tool to take advantage of unwary chip collectors....and that will hurt the hobby and all collectors.

Now that my humble opinion is stated, here's the disclaimer: This is MY opinion, and all on the board may agree or disagree...it's a free country. Since it is a free country, it might even be legally o.k. to "remanufacture" chips, and it might be legally o.k. to deface live chips to drive up the value of the survivors, and it might be legally o.k. to knowingly sell "imitation" chips to unknowing collectors. IT'S STILL WRONG.

Jim, thank you for the hours that you donated to the investigation, and the hours that you donate to the club. Even with the problems and conflicts, it's still a great group of people and a fun hobby. As the bearer of the bad news, I'm sorry that you also have to bear all the repercussions! (and what in the heck is O/-S???)