Here's a philosphical question for you to reflect on . . . What is the Intrinsic Value of a dollar?

Your observation of the prices of obsolete chips is not really a completely accurate picture.

Generally the price of obsolete chips (and current chips) is affected by many factors. These factors generally fall into two categories . . . 1) Supply and 2) Demand

Supply of obsolete chips can be tricky. Remember these chips were designed for use in gaming, not as collectible chips to be sold into a secondary market (not talking about LE's that have been put through a redemption period). As such often times we have no idea how many chips were produced, but especially in the older chips we have no idea how many have survived and are still around. You could have a one of a kind chip today and tomorrow a warehouse may be found with crates of the chips.

On the Demand side we have the fickle wants and needs of the collectors, generally Nevada chips have the most demand, but even within Nevada chips there are many different factors which impact demand, what does the chip look like, what time period, what mold, is it associated with anyone or anything, what casino, what city, what denomination, what color . . . . etc.