In no way am I looking for an argument here...

The chip on the left, in the scan below, has a "W" cancellation mark, making it a cancelled chip. It appears to be hot stamped into the surface of the chip. I was unable to make the "W" stand out more in the scan. The chip on the right has no cancellation mark on either side.

It's possible that this "W" was once gold and it was removed before I ever bought it, but the cancellation mark remains. To me, it's still a cancelled chip. The cancellation mark may have been altered, but not the chip itself.

Isn't an altered chip one that was restored to its original look.