Caution should be used with PVC (Polyvynal Chloride)
flips, pages and some of the 60-pocket and 80-pocket
stock books (which receive the chips without a
holder) that are circulating in the marketplace.
PVC can damage coins and composition chips (I find
red suffers the most)...especially European-style
chip and the older chips comprised or oil-based
materials (see important article by Archie Black;
Club Magazine). Be certain to demand non-PVC
material when shopping for these products. Also,
large binders with 15+ pages will crack chips in the
last few pages when book is slammed closed from all
that weight of the 12+ pages flopping down on the
chips. I do not own one binder, and many people
know the size of my collection: I use 2x2 coin
boxes. I also store the majority of my collection
in several bank vaults in different locations around
town in case of fire. When buying chips at a show,
ask the dealer if you can remove the chip from its
holder to examine for cracks or warps. You can
check for warps by simply laying the chip on the
dealer's class case and apply pressure to see if
it's flat. Most of our dealers would be more than
happy to have you inspect the chip(s), as most keep
a staple gun or extra Mylar holders with them for
this purpose.
JB