Eventually I’ll write a letter to the Club magazine and officers suggesting a Chip Integrity Committee (or Chip Hobby Protection Committee) be established to do some or all of the following. I am writing this off the top of my head. Other comments or letters are welcome.

The Committee’s overall objective would be to protect the integrity of the chip collecting hobby, to prevent collectors from being fooled and swindled, and to protect the value of their collections -- all pretty much the same thing.

More specifically, the committee would:
1. Devise standards for casinos, chip manufacturers, distributors and dealers as to the issuance of gambling chips.
2. Research and publish what regulations or restrictions, if any, govern casinos in (a) destroying or inventorying obsolete chips, (b) many years later distributing or using old chip stock and (c) reordering exact reproductions of obsolete chips for current use or sale.
3. Research and publish what proposed and existing ( eg., Hobby Protection Act) anti-reproduction, etc., laws apply to our hobby; join other anti-reproduction lobbying groups, help them and publicize their work; and lobby federal, state and local governmental bodies to enact laws and regulations to protect the hobby.

As for standards for companies like Paulson, I have suggested that there be:
(a) No reproductions -- making or attempting to make exact copies of
obsolete or current casino chips (and maybe obsolete poker chips). (Of course, casinos should be allowed to order new editions of current regular casino chips to supplement dwindling, soiled stock.)
(b) No fantasy chips of defunct casinos; that is chips with (1) real names and
locations of defunct casinos, and (2) any combination of old and new
molds, designs, inlays, logos, amounts, dates, etc.
(c) No fantasy chips with imaginary casino-like names and real locations.

Basically, the Committee would have three things to do, as said above -- (1) set standards, (2) find out what the existing regulations and practices are, and (3) lobby for beneficial regulations. If a jurisdiction had weak standards, the publicity about it would at least guide collectors as to whether they should bother collecting chips from the place.

Robert Eisenstadt