Late yesterday I received an eBay generated email advising me of an auction for a $5, Nevada Biltmore chip. At the time that I received the message I visited the auction and noted right away that the seller offering the chip had previously auctioned off other examples of this same chip.

Unfortunately, I failed to check some records that I have been making ever since these chips first surfaced in Tucson, AZ. If I had checked those records first, I would have realized at that moment in time, that the seller was listing what should be their last and final of four such chips.

At first blush I thought that the seller was listing an additional chip (a fifth example) than what was originally disclosed to the chip collecting community as being in the possession of this eBay Power Seller, from a find at an Estate Sale in Tucson.

In a moment of weakness (my disappointment) I was willing to concede that this seller was perhaps less than honest and maybe did find more than four examples of this chip.

However, with the assistance of my our records and the eBay tracking of Jay Sands, I have determined that I was premature in my assessment and that it would appear that the seller is actually offering their last of four examples of this chip.

So, for the benefit of anyone who may be concerned or interested, the following is a listing of known examples (KNOWN TO ME!) of this chip. Please note that this number has not changed since about July of 2004. Please note also that several owners, even though they have confided in me their ownership, have requested that I not publicly disclose their ownership.

In mid-2003 one of these chips surfaced at the CCGTCC Convention without much fanfare and was bought by a collector. That collector later provided information about the chip to the TCR authors, who at about that sametime received contact from a different collector who had two examples of the chip, thereby establishing 3 known examples. At that time an "X*" value was assigned.

That value was published in TCR 10 the following year, and shortly after publication the Tucson Finds happened.

There have been three Tucson finds, with nearly all three happening in the May/June 2004 timeframe. As stated above, since that time, no new finds are known to me. The three finds are as follows:

Tucson Find A. A group of 6 are found by a Tucson individual who puts all six on eBay as a single lot. According to the seller, following contact from a Club member to accept an offer for all six chips and to terminate the auction early, the seller decided that there might be more money to be made if each chip is sold individually.

The seller then offered two auctions, of one chip each, for which bids were made by unknown buyers ("unknown" to the chip collecting, eBay involved community), which then received accusations of shill bidding by a CCGTCC member. This then spawned a great deal of debate. However, over time, the seller has since offered all six chips on eBay and each has been sold to various collectors. All six eBay auctions were conducted between 5 June and 18 July, 2004.

This 6, plus the initial 3, at that time, indicated that only 9 chips existed, however, in addition to accusations of shill bidding, the seller was also accused of having access to a box of these chips. This remains to be unfounded, to date.

Tucson Find B. About 2 or 3 days after this turmoil, I found four examples of this chip at a weekly Antique Faire. All four chips were with the same vendor, in a small ziplock baggie. I asked the seller if he knew where he got them and he had no idea. While doing some research on the chips, I came across the "shill bidding" threads of June, 2004 on this BBS, which lead me to having several telephone discussions with the seller, who again stated that he only had 6 examples of the chip.

My four chips have been; 1 was given to a fellow collector, 1 was put into the 2005 CCGTCC Bruce Landau Memorial Auction, 2 remain with me (1 of which is in my collection and the other will be held for the time being).

This four, plus the A Find of six, plus the original three makes a total of 13 known examples, again, known to me, at this point in time.

Tucson Find C. On 2 August, 2004, the current eBay seller (oldcornerstore) offered four examples of the chip as a single lot on eBay. The opening bid (based on what the other six chips individually sold for, times 4) was not met and the chips did not sell. I had email contact with the oldcornerstore, who could not provide any insightfull information as to the origin of how the chips moved from Las Vegas to Tucson. She claimed to only have gotten the four chips at an Estate Sale (in Tucson) but never disclosed where or who's Estate it was.

In the end, oldcornerstore put her four chips on eBay in February, March, June and now October 2005. The current eBay offering accounts for the forth chip of the C Find, thereby accounting for 17 examples of this chip, a number that has not changed in the past year.

Well, thats it. I know of 17 examples of this chip. All but one are now in collector hands. Is it possible that more exist? Of course it is. And if anyone hears of more, please let me know. And if you have one (or more) please let me know that as well, in confidence!

Below is the link to the current auction if anyone is interested. Thank you for reading.

Jim Follis

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6218846594&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1