~~~ it adds strength to the chip (on the rim) and less of a chance that there is a fracture deep in the area of the ring that can progress; as explained to me years ago by Kenny Craig.

I found a handful of both narrow and wide rim Tigers around 1995 and all the wide rim chips (below) had a fracture in the area of the rings, just like Kenny explained to me.

You can find some of his and Dale's articles in our Museum of Gaming History...