Several years ago, this issue of "slabbing" was an extremely divisive topic...so much so, that two of our well-respected members resigned their posts as Club officers and others were raked over the coals. Those that fought against "slabbing" did so relentlessly because of the damage that they thought "slabbing" would cause. Those that did not oppose it, in my opinion , did so to allow Club members to decide for themselves whether or not "slabbing" had a place in this hobby.

My first CCGTCC convention featured a "slabbing" table in the back of the convention area. I found it odd that while all other tables on the floor were bustling with activity, there wasn't a soul at the "slabbing" table any time that I was on the floor. As far as I'm concerned, with the total dis-interest in their product, the members had spoken...and quite loud. I believe that business was so bad that the "slabbing" company packed up & left before the convention's close.

You might wonder why many think that "slabbing" is so bad. As a "newbie", maybe you're not spending hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on chips. But if you did, would you make a high dollar "slabbed" chip purchase based on the opinion of some grading company or grader without having the opportunity to inspect & examine the chip yourself outside of some plastic cocoon? Could you tell if the inlay was lifting? Has the chip been repaired? Is it warped? And if it does turn out to be crap, my recourse to the "slabbing" / grading company is.....? Sorry...not for me. I'm cheap and have very limited chipping funds and can't afford being duped if a "slabbed" chip turns out to be garbage.

But I also have another reason that I don't care for "slabbing"....holding a chip. Maybe it's just me, but to actually hold one of these rare chips in the palm of your hand is really awesome. And I've been lucky enough to hold some real beauties...single chips that are worth many times more what my whole collection is worth !! Not the same effect when it sits sealed in a piece of plastic...

Now what is a "slab"? It's a chip that has been graded (and I don't care by whom) and then sealed in a tamper-proof plastic holder. To get the chip out, you have to destroy the plastic container. It's not a chip in an air-tight or flip that has a numerical grading value on a slip of paper & then scotch-taped shut. "Slabbed" chips are usually sealed into their package with heat...good thing heat doesn't affect chips or 50 year old inlay glue...oh, wait a minute...maybe it does ! While others may disagree, in my opinion, those Horseshoe chip sets that are / were sold on HSN or QVC are not "slabbed" chips as I don't believe that there was / is a grading assigned to the chips before they were sealed (however...if they were graded, SLABBED!!).

A long post, to be sure, but for those of you that haven't been around for three or four years, I wanted to shed a little light on why this topic of "slabbing" is so dear to so many.

In closing, I'd like to thank those of you that fought (and continue to fight) so hard to keep "slabbing" out of this hobby. I would also like to applaud those that stood up against the onslaught and fought for the opportunity to allow the members to make their choice...and the choice was clear -- NO SLABBING!!

Steve B