The inlay in this chip was also used to produce a flag pinback . Actually Whitehead and Hoag produced a series of flag pins titled "Flags of Different Nations". Now the interesting part here is that the patent date July 21, 1896 did not necessarily represent the date that the inlay or chip was produced. The patent date represented the date that W&H patented their pinback making process. The company didn't bother to remove the date when it sent the inlay to USPC to make chips.

Take a look at this link. It shows a flag pinback with its patent date and a catalog: http://www.oldpokerchips.com/Flaginfo.htm

Below is the actual patent for the pin/button making process of July 21, 1896