Thank you for taking the time to put together a great response. In my view, only the first El Dorado example would even be worth discussing, because there are 4 distinct differences in design. It is clear to me that there was an intentional, cognizant effort to change the design of the chip. Everthing else is the same chip, from my perspective.

I think much of the way my opinion has been formed stems from what I set out to collect. I am centering my collection on Las Vegas $1 non-hot stamped chips, post 1963 (when I was born). So I am looking at a wide range of casinos. I want a specific example of every issue, from every casino.

Now if I were strictly a collector of a specific casino, a "variation" would be more important to me. They way I currently collect, talk of variations are an obstacle to me. Of course, it is personal, and I personally don't want to give a minor variation substantive weight.