sold by mail. Of course, they could have also been sold in gift shops, etc. The set I have was given to me years ago. The person that gave them to me (a relative, now deceased) did order the plaques I now have by mail. He also used them as coasters when he played Poker. He ordered many items from the Fingerhut catalog 25-30 years ago, so that's a possible source for these plaques. I've spent some time today tracking done any and all information I could about these plaques. I don't have a copy of a mail order catalog that sold them, sure wish I did. Does anyone have a bunch of 25-30 year old catalogs that list novelty type items?

With over 200 views of my original post, not one person has stated that these plaques are genuine, meaning actually used by a casino in Monte Carlo. I'd say this is a problem, as the CC & GTCC auction catalog states "All lots are guaranteed to be genuine." (Number 8 on page 5). The plaques are described as being "from Monte Carlo", and are NOT listed as being "unknown" or "unidentified". The CC & GTCC catalog also states "In the event of an attribution error, the Auctioneer may, at the Auctioneer’s sole discretion, correct the error orally at the sale..." (Number 9 on page 5). At the auction, I suggest that the Auctioneer state something along the lines that the source of these plaques is in question, and it's possible that they were never used in a casino.

I've seen these plaques on eBay at least 10 times over the past 4 years, or so. I've emailed some of the sellers asking for more information about their plaques. The usual reply is that they don't know anything about them. This is very funny (to me) because the auction descriptions almost always state that they are "rare" and used for gambling. I don't believe the word "plaque" is usually contained within the auction descriptions, and the sellers are not selling other casino collectables. They are simply guessing about what they are selling.