... my question about B&G, John.

Here's what they have to say on their webpage entitled "History of Chips":

>> Gaming markers started being used in casinos in the 18th century as a substitute of the item or amount of money wagered.

>> Originally, they were pieces of bones, mother of pearl or ivory engraved with the name of the casino and their respective value and used primarily in European casinos such as Monte-Carlo, Bad-Homburg or Wiesbaden.

>> Due to major cases of such counterfeit ivory chips in the early 1920s, casino operators
in Monte-Carlo looked for better alternatives.
That is when Mr Bourgogne and Mr Grasset, pioneer plastics enthusiasts from France, came with the innovative idea to use plastic with a secured printing of the casino name and value for the manufacturing of the chips. Their products, known as "plaques" and "jetons", immediately made a hit within the industry. Soon, they replaced money in most casinos in Europe and wherever roulette and baccara were popular games.

>> New technologies and security features were then introduced such as metallic grids, see-through "lunettes" (windows), stripes, laces of various kinds and more recently highly sophisticated holograms and microchips.

>> With the advent of casinos in the U.S.A. appeared a distinctive new type of gaming chips "American-style". Whereas plaques and jetons would use sizes to differentiate denominations, these American-style chips would do so by colours.

>> Clay chips were the first to be introduced until the 1950s when plastic injection moulding enabled a new type of gaming chips to be launched. Over the years, chips manufacturing became more refined and sophisticated. Chips produced today feature a wide array of various graphics, material, technology and security devices.

BTW, check out the filenames of the graphics on their page. Even the picture of the plaques and jetons is named "chips".

Remember the old saw, "When in Rome ...."?

----- jim o\-S