Having read the various sagas of the past year, and being in possession of several items which it now appears are worthy of further examination, my conclusion is this:

The debates all started as a result of all sorts of potential 'operations' being performed on chips which would INCREASE THEIR VALUE (and ultimately fleece collectors)

I am therefore AGAINST anything that is done to a chip to increase its value.

With regard to cleaning, as my good friend Archie has pointed out many times before, cleaning does not improve the 'condition' of a chip and therefore should not increase its value.

I think cleaning is very much a personal thing. At an honest guess, I reckon Archie cleans his chips as Ive never had a dirty one from him!! I know Gene doesn't. He likes his history (I reckon he just doesn't have time )

Seriously, the only chips I bother to clean are 'modern' ones which are in very good condition anyway but are often found 'new' in any case.

I guess most people who sell older chips on ebay clean them up - you rarely see a picture of a dirty one!