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The Chip Board Archive 10

Old Illegal: Piping Rock Matchbook

Found this old Saratoga Springs, NY match on eBay last week. The Gaming Table identifies the club as a really old one opened in the 1880's. Run by the New York mob in the later days and closed in the early 1950's about the time Sen. Kefauver got interested in organized crime.

The name "Piping Rock" was originally in metallic "gold" ink (probably bronze) and it has oxidized until it's now black. You can still make it out in the enhanced scan below. One of the first places in the area to be cooled by "Air Condition" [g].

Ed Hertel's book on illegal club chips shows three different molds from here: Weave, Hub, and a plain hot stamp. The Weave molds with the name spelled out appears to be particularly scarce. Keep your eyes open for a Piping Rock in those unidentified chips the next time your browsing the antique shops.


Copyright 2022 David Spragg