Let me first say, Welcome to the adventure of casino chip collecting, and just as Sheldon Smith posted, if you are going to get into this hobby it is very important that you become as informed and educated as possible. Asking questions is certainly a good start, and asking questions on this Message Board can be a very good start. But just as Sheldon suggests, it might be an expedient to post "What is this worth?" type questions on the more frequented casino memorabilia collectors Message Boards.

However, I think I should caution you to make a few modifications from you request as stated here. I make this suggestion because for some of the readers, if not many, your post here gives more of an appearance of an advertisement for the eBay auctions referenced, than it does as a post seeking information. Please understand, I am not saying that your post is disingenuous, only that it gives that appearance and perhaps that is why the readers here did not posted more immediate responses to your questions, with the except of Sheldon of course.

And speaking of Sheldon's response, it seems that he made a slight mistake in discussing the "Bicycle Bill's Card Room" chip. According to the reference work of Dick Staeffler and John Kallman for California Card Rooms (linked here: http://cashcoinconnection.com/USACAC/USA_CAC.html ) that card room was in operation from 1974 to 1979, and therefore is out of business. (BTW-When you described the chip as being in "awesome condition" we typically see a superlative like "awesome" being used to promote or advertise a chip, not as a description of someone interested in buying, especially if they have only seen a scan or image of the chip from an eBay auction.)

With respect to the Horseshoe $1 chip, since you made no clarification to which eBay auction was offering the $1 Horseshoe chip and there seems to be quite a few offerings at any given time, I did a search of the offerings for the Bicycle Bill's Card Room and found an offer by the same seller for a $1 Horseshoe chip, and I am assuming that that is the chip you are referring to. If not, then please let me know, but otherwise, I'll provide the following information.

Referenced as N1762 in The Chip Rack, this 1954 arrowdie issue is generally valued at around $125. HOWEVER, it is widely believed (but not necessarily a fact) that just as Benny Binion horded silver and other valuables (gold, currency, guns, etc.) then why not casino chip? Over the years there has been very little to express that these past issues of chips were destroyed when taken out of circulation, and instead, as every day goes by, these old-time chips seems to be coming out of the fog of hidden vaults and get presented on eBay in a fairly routine and repetitive manner. The general track record being set by these chips (and some other Horseshoe chips) is that what you pay for the chip tomorrow will probably be less than what you would pay for the chip today. There is a good chance that the longer you wait; the cheaper it will probably be, until it hits a price that you are comfortable with.

Carrie, my advice to you, with respect to your questions about how much should you bid on these chips, is the same for these chips as with any chips...

If you are looking at buying as an investment, then study the market! Do a history ("completed" auctions) search on eBay. Purchase a Chip Rack (for Nevada chips) or the Official chip guide (Nevada, New Jersey and a few other states) for price/value estimates. Read the several Message Boards on casino collectibles and make posts to ask questions. Join the and get affiliated with the collectors that know the market. Attend the shows on this subject.

If you are looking at buying because you like to look of the chips, or the history, or othet such esoteric qualities, then study the market! Do a history ("completed" auctions) search on eBay. Purchase a Chip Rack (for Nevada chips) or the Official chip guide (Nevada, New Jersey and a few other states) for price/value estimates. Read the several Message Boards on casino collectibles and make posts to ask questions. Join the and get affiliated with the collectors that know the market. Attend the shows on this subject.

Just as Sheldon said, become an informed buyer!

We welcome all new collectors, so let us know a little bit about yourself... As a new collector, what are your collecting interests? What chips have you acquired already? What prompted you to start collecting? What part of the country are you located in and are there casinos nearby? (Living near a casino can greatly expand one's collection by being able to acquire chips from those locations and make trades with other people.)

Enjoy the Adventure, and please feel free to respond back, either here or via email. There is plenty of information available just for the asking.

Jim Follis
Life Member 3872-53

ps. This is a duplicate of my response to you over on the Message Board. JF