Hi David, and fellow Chip detectives,

My recollection is you made your main comments to me regarding the set after receiving the chip I couriered to you, not just beforehand. And surely you could have changed your mind after receiving the chip, if you felt that made a difference. You did not. You have also commented on the board here again very recently that the chips have this "paper inlay", long after receiving the JFK chip that I sent you back in the Spring, so that is no excuse for your comments then, or again now. Your judgement has been the same from the start really, and hasn’t changed. The question I ask here is: Has your influential and public opinion in this forum regarding this set been fair and accurate, or not? I feel very strongly it has not.

I acknowledge that I did not share the paperwork with you. I was not looking for you to authenticate the set for me, and I surely have not asked you to do that publicly here with limited information, the way you have. I was asking your opinion as a manufacturer about mold design usage timelines, and the possibility of any old manufacturing records on sets like this for my research. You implied that you had no records that could help me with any of that, but have confirmed that this mold was indeed used during the correct period of 1950’s - 1960’s, but shot the set down solely on the paper inlay issue. It is true I had a good feeling about the story, and it wasn't just wishful thinking. All of my research looked to be confirming the story, with the exception of your assertion that these chips had paper inlays positively dating them to a later period, which I still feel is incorrect, as it did not align with all the other factors. So, let's find out together here, publicly.

Mold 3-D effect: This is an interesting angle I had not considered, but as you admit, in your scans anyway, no difference can be seen really. The mold looks quite sharp on the JFK chips to my eye. However it is quite obvious in the scan of the more recent Classic Poker Chips chip utilizing this same mold, that the rectangle and diamond at around the 2 O’clock position suffer from some serious lack of sharpness and shape with considerable distortion that is not at all visible anywhere on the JFK chip, so if anything I would say this might more likely prove that the JFK chips were made prior to the mold being worn out the way it may be now, as seen on this newer chip. This helps the case of the JFK chips being molded prior to the mold being worn out as implied. Just study the newer Classic Poker Chips chip at 2’ O’clock position carefully, to confirm this for yourself. You can see what should be a diamond looks like a tear drop shape, and a warped rectangle beside it.

The provenance is indeed fairly weak, as admitted and clearly outlined by myself and Heritage. With better paperwork, like a letter from Eunice Shriver saying Milton Berle gave the set to JFK to his 45th Birthday, it would indeed be a different story, and Heritage might have set the starting price at $50,000, and maybe they would have sold for $100,000+ and everybody would feel differently, but you have made public comments and unfairly spun considerable doubt about this set in the community through your forum with limited information, and I feel you have incorrectly jumped to conclusions. Your general suspicion and your incorrect assumption of no paperwork existing until just prior to the auction, and your main point being that these chips do not date from the correct period because they have “paper inlays”, and then inlays of “gloss paper” and now "3 part paper inlays" etc. The paperwork provenance although admittedly quite weak, is very real and was not created recently as a fraudulent act as implied here, and the paper inlay issue, now at hand, is easily settled. Is is possible that a story too good to be true, skewed you into looking for reasons to shoot it down, instead of actually being objective?

Is the Gentleman's bet on or off, and Why?

Despite my understandable anger at the misinformation and doubt that may have negatively effected the auction price, I have always enjoyed chip collecting very much and know you guys are all probably good folks of like interests, so to try to keep this positive I have offered a fun gentleman's bet here, to get David to crack open his JFK chip to demonstrate to everybody publicly that the inlay is indeed a paper inlay as he has constantly maintained, and has been asserting publicly here, in what I feel is an inaccurate and unfair judgement of this set. To prove this, and end this all now without any further fuss or BS, just crack open the chip and show us all this paper inlay. If these are definitely worthless fake chips that never actually could have been owned by JFK as you have been publicly peddling here, then surely you wouldn’t mind destroying the one I gave you as a gift, to prove this paper inlay theory of yours, and to demonstrate this to everybody here to clear this up and win the Gentleman’s bet, and take your choice of my 10 most favorite, minty, cherished, and prized picture chips as shown.

You haven't mentioned the bet, and if you accept it or not, and what chip of my 10 you want to play for, and what picture chip of equal value you are offering me, if you are proven incorrect, and lose the bet.

Is the Gentleman's bet on or off, and Why?

Paul

PS: Early Detective Awards: I would like to thank John & Jim for their early efforts here, and send them a Dunes money clip for helping us all reach towards the truth on this. Please provide me with an address where I can send them. The monogram angle is interesting, but I guess we could safely assume that if the set was a gift from somebody, purchased at a place like Abercrombie & Fitch then they may not have known what font or type style the Presidential monogram would be, opposed to if the job had been arranged by JFK staff etc. I think it is true that JFK was probably not much of a gambler. Although his dad made considerable fortune in the booze business, and was connected, JFK and his brother double crossed the mafia. JFK loved the ladies, and spent most of his leisure energy there I think. I don’t think it is likely that he wanted a poker set, or would have his staff make one up for presidential use. My feeling is that this was likely a gift from an outsider that JFK cast off to the kids who threw them around (and into) the pool in Florida. The monogram on these JFK chips clearly looks to be a basic block font with all initials all the same size, which may have been all that was available by a local printer, but good effort guys. Keep your detective hats on, and get me your addresses so I know where to send your vintage stock Dunes money clips so they will arrive before the holidays, and I hope will bring you both very Good Luck into the new year!

I still have some more of these vintage old stock money clips, so more will be awarded to any chip detective offering objective and reasonable input pushing us all closer to the truth on this set!