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But this new buried treasure raises a question that I have seen discussed in short bursts- Do you clean the cement off the chip (token), or leave it? This is actually two questions- one is visual, the other historical.
I am sure there is a better word than historical, but I have been sick since arriving home, so visual it is. Some may find it more appealling to clean off the cement and other gunk on a chip. While others may wish to display the chips in the cement tomb they were relegated to. This discussion was held last night in the chat room, and it appears to be subjective and based in part whether you have a cool chunk, or just assorted bits.
But while the hobby covers many arenas, the CCGTCC is more narrowly focused, preserving the history of gaming. That is the question I have been contemplating from my sick bed this morning and hope to hear some thoughts from my fellow collectors.
Is it better to clear away the bits of dirt and rock accumulated on the historically significant item, or is it better to maintain the item in its curent form. If we were discussing dinosaurs or pre columbian art, I am not sure there would even be an issue for discussion. Scientists with studied patience work to remove every speck of dirt and rock while maintaining the integrity of the item discovered. Their goal is to understand the item, not the rock it was imbedded in.
Does this end the debate? I wonder if in a subject as young as chip collecting (chipology-I hear the term every now and then, and it is on the club website, got to admit I like it) the more interesting historical questions are how, why, and when these chips found there quintessential vegas burial (wearing cement shoes). We have a pretty solid background on where the chips came from, we have better resources to tell us abut the casinos and the people tied to their history. But the mystery is in their burial.
I can't help but suspect that on occasion in the future, Jim Follis won't look at that giant hunk of rock, with pieces of chip sticking out, and muse on the subject of why these chips weren't destroyed, but were buried in the desert. He will then turn his attention to why is Casey reading brochures on assisted living establishments? But I digress
So what is the the path to preserving Gaming History in this circumstance?
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