The copper bars and rounds came in this week, and I played around with them, and even gave them a mini torture test against themselves as well as a clay chip.
Durability:
Copper on copper crime was the biggest offender, which wasn’t really a surprise. The 0.999 copper was not soft by any stretch, but it does slightly deform the edges, especially as force is applied. The results below are from direct edge to edge forcible contact. Rather than true deformation, the edges get significantly rougher under this distress. It is rough enough where you can hear the edge “catching” fibers on the felt when the edge is run across the playing surface. While not insignificant, I would be surprised to see any noticeable damage to the felt unless someone was shuffling a plaque on one spot for a prolonged period.
Fresh edges
After stress test
I tried the same stress test with the edge of a copper bar and a clay chip. It does leave a mark on the chip, but not as much as I would have guessed before running the test. For transparency, the chip used was clearly not sharp, so I can’t speak to whether flea bites would occur, or at what rate, with a sharp chip. With a casino used chip I would say significant damage would be unlikely with normal game use.
Before
After
Pros:
Overall, I like the feel and the sound of the bars when they glance off each other. It’s a solid ring or clink when hitting other copper, and a satisfying heavy sound as it hits clay chips. It reminds me a lot of gold coins brushing across each other in any pirate movie ever. Some of the designs are very sharp and easy to read, and if you’re into coins too, you’ll recognize plenty of the available options (particularly the rounds, surprise surprise)
At ~$2.75/bar or round, it’s not a terrible price before shipping, and the cost per unit goes down quite a bit when buying bulk. Certainly more affordable than some of the premium chips on Forum. There are some options on
eBay that were a comparative deal if you can find the design you’re looking for in bulk.
Of note, the 1 ounce rounds are 39mm in diameter, so they feel like they belong compared to most chips. They’d also rack up nicely with the rest of a 39mm set
Cons:
I found the bars to feel small, especially against a round of the same weight. I also felt that the designs on the bars felt messier and hard to read. The designs I felt worked the best drew from iconic coins of the past. This may just be a personal preference, but if I was going to implement them, I would opt for a much simpler design if possible. The edge roughness is certainly a downside, although I question if they would even show any rough wear if used under normal stresses.
With only two bars it’s hard to say how they would stack, but I’d guess they would have issues once you get over 10 or so since the field of the bars is recessed compared to the edges.
Conclusion:
If I could find a design I liked, I’d definitely consider these as a fun option. Under normal use, I don’t think there would be noticeable wear on either copper or clay, and I don’t think the risk to the playing surface is significant enough to deter me. When used as the big chip, I don’t think anyone would ever have enough in their stack to cause tipping issues. I would be curious to see how the oils from fingers/hot dogs/hamburgers would affect the patina over time. My gut says not enough to matter, but it is just a guess. If you’re lucky, maybe you’d even get some nice toning to really make them stand out. I would also be curious to see how a 5 ounce bar would stack up. At ~$10 per, the cost is significantly higher, but for my money, I’d be interested to see if this felt more like a plaque. And even at 5x the weight, I think the risk of damage would be less than I originally thought.
