Bon-Bini in St. Maarten (1 Viewer)

[Taghkanic]

I forgot about my bid on an auction site, and was outbid... Two barrels went for $90. Thought I’d post the pic, because I’ve not seen chips from this casino before.

The item description was:

Bon-Bini Casino St. Maarten N. Antilles $5 Chips (40). Circa 1968-72. Vintage chips from the Caribbean casino. Top hat and cane mold. Red with three mustard inserts. Very good.​

These look like LCVs maybe. Wide outer rim. I’m wondering what their other chips looked like. These look only lightly worn considering that they are dated to about 50 years ago. Not sure if the casino still exists.

 

[Rakrul]

I've been there a couple of times, but never seen or heard of Bon-Bini.

 

[Taghkanic]

The Chip Guide confirms that this casino was only open for four years, 1968-1972. They only have three denoms ($5, $25, $100) in the guide plus some dice.

http://chipguide.themogh.org/cg_chip2.php?id=smgbbo&v=1675826899

 

[Taghkanic]

Spinettis has some Bon-Bini dice for sale on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CASINO-DIC...-Used-Dice-Great-Bay-St-Maarten-/372702414019

The only other reference I can find to these chips was a single $5 chip in a larger lot from the Potter & Potter auction in January 2021:

https://www.potterauctions.com/pdf/catalog_95web.pdf

 

[Taghkanic]

Side note: Upon further inspection, the label design contains (what I consider) a common graphic design blunder, which tilts me if I see it on a quality poker chip.

Notice that the numeral 5 is not centered — not under Bon-Bini and over the star, or within the crown/shield/scroll border, or across the diameter of the label.

Instead, the typesetter has treated the $ and 5 as a unit, and attempted to center the two characters. But s/he has failed in that attempt as well, leaving a little more space to the right of the 5 than to the left of the $.

Maybe this was a compromise choice (recognizing that the $ is less important and fainter than the 5), but I think it’s a groteque graphic decision. Worst of both worlds.

The 5 should be centered. The currency mark should be to the left of the digits indicating the amount.

I know, no one cares except typography geeks. Still. I feel better about not snagging these at auction.

 

[John Conor]

I get what you’re saying about the typeset but still really nice! I got the lot after these for the Mint Club $1’s and slightly regret not bidding on these Bon-Bini’s. I was a little surprised at how low the lots of chips went, especially compared to the lots of singles. Fun auction and some great deals on slots too.

 

[ReallyGoodUsername]

452 made no sense to me lol

 

[Gear]

Side note: Upon further inspection, the label design contains (what I consider) a common graphic design blunder, which tilts me if I see it on a quality poker chip.

View attachment 709568

Notice that the numeral 5 is not centered — not under Bon-Bini and over the star, or within the crown/shield/scroll border, or across the diameter of the label.

Instead, the typesetter has treated the $ and 5 as a unit, and attempted to center the two characters. But s/he has failed in that attempt as well, leaving a little more space to the right of the 5 than to the left of the $.

Maybe this was a compromise choice (recognizing that the $ is less important and fainter than the 5), but I think it’s a groteque graphic decision. Worst of both worlds.

The 5 should be centered. The currency mark should be to the left of the digits indicating the amount.

I know, no one cares except typography geeks. Still. I feel better about not snagging these at auction.

I don't disagree with your assessment of the alignment, but to pick a nit -- there was no type to set here. That's almost guaranteed to be hand-drawn (i.e. sign-painter painted.)

 

[Gear]

These look like LCVs maybe.

BTW can confirm LCV, at least on the four visible chips. Possibly C&J but I wouldn't swear to that.

EDIT: Just looked at the chipguide page. Based on the colors of the other two chips, these are definitely Christy & Jones. (Plus chipguide says so, but the data in there is sometimes suspect.)

 

[Gear]

452 made no sense to me lol

72c per chip isn't that crazy.

453 was bizarrely nuts though.

 

[ovo]

I like those, I want them

 

[ReallyGoodUsername]

72c per chip isn't that crazy.

453 was bizarrely nuts though.

Can't you buy them new (albeit without the case) for pennies?

 

[Taghkanic]

I don't disagree with your assessment of the alignment, but to pick a nit -- there was no type to set here. That's almost guaranteed to be hand-drawn (i.e. sign-painter painted

Agreed, and that’s a good point... Though here I was using “typesetter” more generally in the more generic sense of “someone who places and aligns type within a design”—whether with leaded type, using dry transfers, pasteup, on a computer, or hand-drawn.

FWIW, the form of the 5 looks like a pretty standard printer’s numeral of the time, maybe Copperplate Sans or Trade Gothic... So possibly the designer traced a printed digit, or printed the “$5” then drew around it, or used Letraset or some other dry transfer type for the image... which presumably was then photographed and reduced, or otherwise converted to a plate which could be printed on inlays.

Also, the Bon Bini logo may have been created by someone other than the person who created the chips, and thus might have been a cut-and-paste thing. Not sure if the resort preceded the casino or not. #fontgeekery

http://www.identifont.com/list?2+CO...KFX+0+GKL+0+FAB+0+23ZW+0+23ZU+0+23ZV+0+23ZT+0

 

[John Conor]

Looks like they’re going to be singled out on eBay…

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bon-Bini-5...-/194206407911?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286

 

[Okku]

Just wanted to make sure that you guys know that these are Christy and Jones H&C chips. So they'll be slightly different from Paulsons, but still similar chips. Just a tad bit larger and have a slightly different sound when being shuffled. Easiest way to know the difference is to look at the Hats. If they are shiny, then you know that they are C&J.

 

[GianThaMan]

Easiest way to know the difference is to look at the Hats.

I disagree, that is, IMO, the hardest way to tell the difference. It varies based on lighting and on a chip-by-chip basis. Some Paulsons look like the have really shiny hats, and some Burt-made THCs look like they have pretty matte hats. Just look at the spots, edges, inlay, or colors to tell. More specifically:

If the spots are curved inwards, 514, a dovetail half-pie, or a quarter pie that extends past the inlay, you know they’re Burt-made. And alternatively, if they’re very imperfect, have V-shapes, half-circle shapes, or a quarter pie that only extends to around the hats, you know they’re Paulson-made.

If they’re mint but the edges are slightly rounded/they don’t look like they make a continuous stack (I don’t know how else to describe it) and don’t have any lathe marks, you know they’re Burt-made. And alternatively, if the edges are very sharp and do have lathe marks, you know they’re Paulson-made.

If the inlay has a small, almost pixelated effect around the edges, you know they’re Burt-made. And alternatively, if the inlay is perfectly smooth around the edges, you know they’re Paulson-made.

If the colors are all pretty dull, they’re more likely to be Burt-made. And alternatively, if the colors are vibrant and fluorescent, they’re more likely to be Paulson-made.

If all else fails, then you can look at the hats, but I think it’s dumb that the recommendation for everyone to tell the difference is to look at the hats. It’s impossible to be 100% sure just from a photo that shows the hats, but these other things are easy to spot and much more reliable.

 

[Okku]

I disagree, that is, IMO, the hardest way to tell the difference. It varies based on lighting and on a chip-by-chip basis. Some Paulsons look like the have really shiny hats, and some Burt-made THCs look like they have pretty matte hats. Just look at the spots, edges, inlay, or colors to tell. More specifically:

If the spots are curved inwards, 514, a dovetail half-pie, or a quarter pie that extends past the inlay, you know they’re Burt-made. And alternatively, if they’re very imperfect, have V-shapes, half-circle shapes, or a quarter pie that only extends to around the hats, you know they’re Paulson-made.

If they’re mint but the edges are slightly rounded/they don’t look like they make a continuous stack (I don’t know how else to describe it) and don’t have any lathe marks, you know they’re Burt-made. And alternatively, if the edges are very sharp and do have lathe marks, you know they’re Paulson-made.

If the inlay has a small, almost pixelated effect around the edges, you know they’re Burt-made. And alternatively, if the inlay is perfectly smooth around the edges, you know they’re Paulson-made.

If the colors are all pretty dull, they’re more likely to be Burt-made. And alternatively, if the colors are vibrant and fluorescent, they’re more likely to be Paulson-made.

If all else fails, then you can look at the hats, but I think it’s dumb that the recommendation for everyone to tell the difference is to look at the hats. It’s impossible to be 100% sure just from a photo that shows the hats, but these other things are easy to spot and much more reliable.

I agree with this

 

[riotouslevity]

Side note: Upon further inspection, the label design contains (what I consider) a common graphic design blunder, which tilts me if I see it on a quality poker chip.

View attachment 709568

Notice that the numeral 5 is not centered — not under Bon-Bini and over the star, or within the crown/shield/scroll border, or across the diameter of the label.

Instead, the typesetter has treated the $ and 5 as a unit, and attempted to center the two characters. But s/he has failed in that attempt as well, leaving a little more space to the right of the 5 than to the left of the $.

Maybe this was a compromise choice (recognizing that the $ is less important and fainter than the 5), but I think it’s a groteque graphic decision. Worst of both worlds.

The 5 should be centered. The currency mark should be to the left of the digits indicating the amount.

I know, no one cares except typography geeks. Still. I feel better about not snagging these at auction.

I care! Tho to be fair I was in the printing biz for awhile

 

[Taghkanic]

Just wanted to make sure that you guys know that these are Christy and Jones H&C chips. So they'll be slightly different from Paulsons, but still similar chips. Just a tad bit larger and have a slightly different sound when being shuffled. Easiest way to know the difference is to look at the Hats. If they are shiny, then you know that they are C&J.

It looks like the outer rim of the mold is a bit wide. Is that another clue?

 

[ReallyGoodUsername]

While all the above is true, I just look at the shape of the hat and cane mold. Not sure if it’s thinner or what but always seems to be the first and most consistent difference I notice.

 

[GianThaMan]

While all the above is true, I just look at the shape of the hat and cane mold. Not sure if it’s thinner or what but always seems to be the first and most consistent difference I notice.

Yeah that’s an easy way to identify the difference between SCV and LCV, but there are both Paulson-made and Burt-made LCV chips, so all the above is to determine the difference between those.

 

[ReallyGoodUsername]

I still see a difference between the two LCVs just on look. Maybe it’s just my special eyes.