Though most ivory poker chip sets were made for private use at home or on a private yacht in the American East, Midwest and South, there is strong documentation that some Ivory chips were personalized for a saloon or a gaming operator who ran games in some of the best known hotels and private clubs in the American West. So, yes, I would say this was a chip used out west where an American Quarter Eagle ($2.50) gold coin was also in wide circulation. This is a very rare demomination for an Ivory poker chip. Ivory chips were quite costly back then and not as common as some would assume. There were also copper 2½ and 250 pieces used as trade tokens as well... which, of course, probably made their way on to a game or two back then.
|