I spoke without researching the way copyright might be transferred or licensed. I don't think that changes anything about how the creator of a copy (like a photo or scan) of a collectible obtains the right to defend his work against someone who uses his work.

In fact, a case could be made that copyright on the kinds of things we collect belongs to the artist who created them, or possibly his employer. I've never seen the words of a contract between a casino and a chip maker that address who owns the right to copy those chips (or tokens, or plaques). I could be that there is no copyright passed on to a collector who makes his own copy of things he collects; that only the maker or purchaser of such items has a right to prohibit the making of copies.

It would appear that whichever organization owns the contents of TheChipGuide should initiate a study to clarify ownership of copyright on pictures and scans the Guide contains. Maybe Charles has already done this?