... very close to yours, Jill:

>> TO ME - obsolete means (when applied to chips) the chip no longer
>> holds the value for which it was orginally intended. This means
>> that either the casino closed and there is no place to "redeem"
>> them... or that the casino has called for a redemtion period - and
>> no longer recognizes the chip as a debt owed by the casino.

My disagreements with your definition are minor: one, I consider chips from closed Atlantic City casinos "obsolete", despite the fact that they still hold their issue value and can be redeemed, albeit not at the issuing casino. And, two, the oddball situation (which is perhaps unlikely in places like Vegas or AC, but which could still happen in CA) where chips might be "held" by the issuing casino company or owner for use in another casino and therefore could once again become "live".

I would say:

Obsolete means:

The casino is closed and the chips have neither been transferred to another casino for use nor are they being held by the issuing casino company for possible use in another casino. That is, there is no possibility that they will ever again be useable in a casino.

Or, the casino called for a redemption period which has expired and the chip can no longer be redeemed either at the casino or anywhere else.

On the other hand, I'm not sure why we need a definition of "obsolete". It's a term which does not lend itself well to chips. What we call their status doesn't change the actuality of it -- and as far as the casinos are concerned, there is really only one status that matters -- whether or not it is still redeemable for cash. Everything else is just terminology.

----- jim o\-S