Thank you for your posts. I find them interesting and enlightening. I also agree with you about the ramifications of these newer pieces to your end of the hobby. If I had any inclination to start buying ivory chips, I wouldn't based entirely on my concern about being deceived. This especially true because of the price of these. There really are no truly low end pieces ($5 and under) like the casino chips. For me, the cost of educating myself would be too prohibitive, and I wouldn't ever feel comfortable that I wasn't being taken. If I feel that way, I'm sure others do too. I'm sure many potential collectors can be scared away when they find their first purchase is nothing but a fake. It may be artistic, to me that's debatable since these are mere copies and nothing new, but it's still a budding disaster for ivory collectors.

Michael Siskin