Matsui Clay Poker Chips (1 Viewer)

[brocck]

Anyone here have any of the old Matsui Clay poker chips. I'm currently having about 1000 chips imported from Japan right now. So far I've gotten 2 racks in and the other 8 should be here sometime next week. Just wanted to know what everyone thinks of them. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with these lol.

After handling them for a little while they actually feel really nice. They are also pretty minty.

These are the ones I've received so far.

What do you guys think?

These are currently in the mail and I am waiting to receive them.

 

[Bacon Dad]

Cool chips. If you don’t mind, what was the price point on a rack or per chip?

 

[brocck]

Cool chips. If you don’t mind, what was the price point on a rack or per chip?

Yeah after tax and import fees and shipping they came out to be around 1400-1500 for all 10 racks.

 

[allforcharity]

I didn't realize Matsui dabbled in clay at one time. Interesting!

 

[brocck]

I've done a lot of research over the past few days and they seem to be pretty rare.

 

[BGinGA]

Their clay chips weren't offered by Matsui very long.

You have 1000 more chips than anybody else I know. Even pics are scarce.

 

[bernielomax]

Nice pickup

What do these weigh?

 

[brocck]

Nice pickup

What do these weigh?

They are between, 10.2-10.5 grams each. I’m compiling some evidence but after comparing them to some Paulson color samples I have. I’m am very suspicious that these were made by Paulson. They look, feel and weigh almost exactly the same as the color samples I have. The also have almost the exact same diameters.

 

[LeLe]

Very interesting, they look very ASM/CPC ish from the pictures

Nick Pickup

 

[BGinGA]

They are between, 10.2-10.5 grams each. I’m compiling some evidence but after comparing them to some Paulson color samples I have. I’m am very suspicious that these were made by Paulson. They look, feel and weigh almost exactly the same as the color samples I have. The also have almost the exact same diameters.

Never considered this possibility, but I suspect you are absolutely correct. Maybe BCC, but one of the two companies sourced these chips.

These are the first color photographs or spotted versions of Matsui clay chips that I have seen, and the color palette (among other traits) certainly matches up well with Paulson's.

And it makes perfect sense all around -- extremely scarce quantities ever seen, plus it seems very unlikely that Matsui would have that quickly abandoned an in-house project that would have required significant capital investment. And GPI would have put the brakes on any type of Matsui resale plans of their products due to gaming regulatory restrictions.

 

[brocck]

I found this photo on chip guide. It’s essential the same chip on the THC mold. The label is almost exactly the same.

The other matsui clay chips on chip guide have different labels, and the chips just look way different.

 

[colter ripton]

I got 200 of them from the same guy. I was thinking about using them in a mixed molds set. If I don’t end up using them I’ll sell them to you. Same price

 

[colter ripton]

How much do they weigh?

 

[brocck]

10.2-10.5 grams

 

[allforcharity]

Excellent sleuthing, everyone!

So, maybe these were essentially one-offs made on a Matsui "house mold". Or perhaps Matsui was embarking on a potential licensing deal with GPI to provide compression clay to casinos in East Asia and wanted to test the waters.

 

[cpiaaq]

Interesting! I have a mfg sample from maybe 2006? At that time I heard that Matsui was interested in producing a clay chip line. Then they abandoned it. Wish I knew more.

My sample is a different mold, 8.9g, and has a smooth inlay.

 

[Beakertwang]

I remember seeing a few lots of Matsui clays on eBay a few years ago. IIRC, the mold featured multiple stylized "M" impressions.

 

[Beakertwang]

Here it is!
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/clay-matsui-chips.9871/

 

[allforcharity]

I can see why they may have abandoned it. Asian casinos are so used to using durable plastic chips that clay would have been a "downgrade" based on the cost of replacement.

 

[mipevi]

Matsui used a variety of different manufacturers to get chips from before (and possibly during) making their own, including but not limited to brands such as Paulson, Bud Jones and B&G. As the person on PCF with Donald Duck as his avatar, I can indeed confirm that OP’s chips are Paulsons.

And as for actual Matsui clay chips, there were three molds, all pictured in earlier posts. First came the MG-mold, followed by the M-mold, and finally the ’stylized M’-mold. The first two have proper compressed inlays but the ’stylized M’-mold seems to have a decal/sticker placed in a recessed center. Perhaps @cpiaaq can confirm that last part? Below a comparison of the two MG-molds.

 

[cpiaaq]

First came the MG-mold, followed by the M-mold, and finally the ’stylized M’-mold.The first two have proper compressed inlays but the ’stylized M’-mold seems to have a decal/sticker placed in a recessed center. Perhaps @cpiaaq can confirm that last part?

Confirmed. Thank you for the informative post!

 

[maxim_666666]

Matsui used a variety of different manufacturers to get chips from before (and possibly during) making their own, including but not limited to brands such as Paulson, Bud Jones and B&G. As the person on PCF with Donald Duck as his avatar, I can indeed confirm that OP’s chips are Paulsons.

And as for actual Matsui clay chips, there were three molds, all pictured in earlier posts. First came the MG-mold, followed by the M-mold, and finally the ’stylized M’-mold. The first two have proper compressed inlays but the ’stylized M’-mold seems to have a decal/sticker placed in a recessed center. Perhaps @cpiaaq can confirm that last part? Below a comparison of the two MG-molds.

View attachment 1394692

Great! I remember my old post and attempt to reach Matsui with their clay. How long ago it was! In the end, I came to the conclusion that Matsui never made their own clay chips and did not have such opportunities, since they did not have this equipment. They simply used one or several clay manufacturers to promote this type of product, in addition to their plastic. Some kind of experiment. They may have planned to establish something of their own in the future, but something went wrong and they were denied access to clay. Even most likely (considering the limited spots and colors) this was a trial batch of samples, which never grew into something more.

Neither here nor on CT I knew anyone who could order them ...

In fact, these chips are SAMPLES made by someone else for Matsui. And they passed them off as their own.

 

[mipevi]

Neither here nor on CT I knew anyone who could order them ...

Yeah over the years I too asked Matsui once or twice about ordering a set of clays. IIRC the usual mantra was that they were in the process of updating their formula, and because of that clays were (always) unavailable.