The chip hobby needs INVESTORS! In the world of coins, stamps, comics, sportscards, etc., highly graded, slabbed collectibles are sought after by collectors AND investors alike. The world of coins, comics, and especially sportscards are filled with buyers that only care what grade the item was assigned rather than the item itself. An Influx of investor money may be the only option. We cannot rely on the younger generation to revive the hobby, they simply are not collectors.

The anti-slabbing movement was right for the time 20 years ago. The limited edition / atlantic city / chipco / deadwood, etc, crazes were in full bloom. new collectors were joining daily. It used to take 2-3 pages to list all the new members in the club magazine. Slabbing was not necessary.

Fast forward twenty years and many members are dying or reaching the point where they must sell due to age, health, etc. The combination of slabbing and promoting the financial aspects of the hobby could greatly increase the prices attained when selling our collections. When the hobby/club was booming 15-20yrs. ago the club magazine was filled with articles espousing ever rising private sales, auction results, etc. At some point the CCGTCC decided to act as if the monetary side of chips didn't exist. Just look at any club magazine "convention review" issues. There seems to be no mention of the chip market, just pictures of members congratulating themselves for being at the show.

Who will benefit the most from slabbing? The people reading this post! If you are on the chipboard, odds are you already have a good collection and would be on the ground floor of the new casino chip slabbing craze! Baseball Cards were a huge craze in the late eighties, early nineties. Then the market absolutely DIED and remained dead until the economy crashed in 2008/09. Slabbed baseball cards (and comics,coins, etc) became an investment choice for many disenfranchised with banks, the market, etc. and it REVIVED the hobby. Record setting prices are now being set daily!

Let's invite grading companies, auction houses, or any other entities affiliated with slabbing to the convention. Maybe this could revive the hobby at no extra cost to club members and may actually lead to a financial windfall for many.