Hey Steve!

Good to hear from you! Thanks for your opinion the the subject.

I personally don't see any problems with people wanting to collect these chips myself either. I'm just trying to understand why these are acceptable within our hobby but slabbed chips from an era now past are not.

I personally don't see a problem with someone wanting to purchase a slabbed chip just to have an example within their collection for positerity sake. I don't think the slabbing companies currently pose any immediate threat to our hobby yet when one becomes available we're warned by some not to get involved with it or be exiled (and may have to wear a big red "S" on our shirt when attending conventions ).

If I had to choose, I personally feel that any Boland chips and/or Whalen chips should be treated with at least the same dis-respect/dis-dain as slabbed chips. They both have a negative stigma associated with them within our hobby and should at least be treated equally.

I just found it interesting that they are not and was wondering what I was missing or didn't understand.

You mentioned "the damage" has already been done by these chips and that "most" collectors are aware of their history. Some of these chips DID cause damage to collectors and may still in the future to new collectors in our hobby. By accepting them as a valid collectible, it appears to validate the work that these individuals did (or are doing). In my opinion, that poses a bigger threat today than slab do right now...