Chip collecting has a lot interesting issues. The best thing about it is that it is always in flux. That is a GREAT thing.
That is what makes it fun for me. There is always new chips being found and we will never be able to record all of the
history needed in our lifetimes.

When I started collecting, I looked at the guides a lot, and I asked a lot of questions. I would see an ebay auction and call
a friend and ask their opinion. Have you done that? I still do....

We see a lot of people come and go because they expect it to be easy... and it is not. I've never been interested in coin collecting
because it seemed pretty straight forward. (quantities and values)

My advise if you wanted to re-approach the hobby... find someone that you think is generous with their knowledge and not trying to sell
you chips. Ask them questions. Then find ten more people and do the same...

What is your goal with collecting?

If you don't want to ask others... The board has an archive "search" that you can key in any word and search the past years of posts
that deal with that topic. I think that would have answered your (Horseshoe) question. There is also a company that catalogs all of the
ended ebay auctions... I forget the name, but you can subscribe to their archive.

chipping =
Westen