No quarrel with your observations Glenn, and I can see you're not targeting the guide authors for criticism. As they expressed during their seminar at the last convention, they aren't setting prices, they're merely reflecting what they see or know about the value of chips being moved in the marketplace. These guys have always been responsive to me in all regards and I'm sure you have as much respect for their work as I do.

The call for an always up-to-date reference has been made here many times, online availablity is usually wanted. Mostly desired by folks that are where we were when we launched ourselves into the great hobby. My guess is that they think their collection's value is appreciating on a daily basis. It is indeed a mistake to think that chip prices are always rising. I like the way the TCR suthors have added "+" and "-" to their assigned values to indicate last trends before publishing. Of course C/W always put their best good-faith reckoning into their work also.

Anecdotes? Sure, I've got plenty like everyone else. I beat a noted Plantinum Collection chip for condition within months of the sale but that's one of the great things about the hobby and new finds are one of the chip collecting aspects you pointed out. The longer you do this, the more you get comfortable guaging chip prices yourself. Don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows! Puffery certainly exists but not all cases are seller avarice.

To cut this short I will point out something. I see lots of folks proud to share pics of their latest and greatest acquisitions here daily and there are a lot of really good chips being shown. Desirable items are being bought, sold, traded, bid on and won at auction at an amazing rate. Seems to me that all this activity indicates that the hobby and the club is pretty healthy. Pretty good time to be a chip collector and a member of .

Here's the junk I got at the Riv in August. I looked at the books some, the seller looked at the books some... and we both found a price that suited us.