I'm still fairly new to chip collecting and I have been trying to buy a little extra just to make sure to keep my personal collection safe. I'll sell off the rest if and when I need to.

One thing I've learned from (albeit) brief email exchanges with a few of you "old timers" is to collect for the love of collecting. Yes, the current state of our economy is VERY scary and it is a shame to see the (monetary) value of things drop but I have learned the true value of my chips far exceed what is written in the guides.

I don't expect to sell my personal collection but if I am forced to do anything, it will be to narrow to a collecting specialty. I'm finding it much easier to trade value to value (according to the guides) than it is trying to get that amount in cash.