About 10 years ago I think.

Would you buy a comparative $500 for more than $500 now? How many collectors are there in that market? That's one of the things that affects values.

I had one of those chips maybe 8 years ago. They cashed it for me and let me buy some lower denoms that had been cashed since they got rid of the chips.
They were not live but had not been redeemed.