Holy grail of collectible casino chips... (1 Viewer)

[Klobberer]

I'm just getting started on the collecting side. What is your most desireable chip? Who has the greatest chip collection out there? What is the rarest chip out there? What chip can't anybody find?

Apologize if there's a thread that already addresses this. If there is, point me in the right direction.

 

[FDLmold]

Here at PCF we are about playable sets. Desirable single chips, while important to some of us, are not the focus. The most desirable single chips are usually from Vegas, but often not where you'd think. Sometimes, it's just some closed down casino and only one chip ever escaped, like this one:

Somebody paid $75,000 for this chip.

There aren't too many chips that nobody can find, because if we knew they were there then somebody has one already. Sometimes there are old advertisements that show chips that nobody has ever seen in the wild. Finding one of those would be a gold mine, because you have rarity AND provenance.

We who collect playable sets are considered "the enemy" by some of the single chip collectors. We "hoard" and "drive up prices". Maybe, but we also use what we collect, unlike the single collectors, who have pretty things to look at. Visit thechipboard and join the CCA / CCGTCC if you want to dive into singles collecting. It's a rabbit hole and you can bite off as much as you're willing to chew. I've got about 350 or so singles that I'm looking for at any given time, and I find that's a good number for me.

 

[Klobberer]

Rabbit hole...mmmmm!

 

[Psypher1000]

Nifty! Singles can be just as fun as sets, and just as expensive. Instead of one lump sum, however, it’s more often a death of a thousand cuts.

Or you could drop a few thousand on one chip. Just depends on your tastes.

Who has the greatest chip collection out there?

The Spragg/Sands Nevada chip reference collection is pretty damn extensive. Spinettis collection is probably pretty epic as well (considering his house is basically a museum of gaming history & memorabilia on its own. Dick Bartley has one of the most extensive collection of 1’s out there, even extending into custom chips, illegals, etc. Odds are, however, that the most epic of collections is one we don’t know about. For the sake of security and privacy the collector probably doesn’t say much about it.

What is the rarest chip out there? What chip can’t anybody find?

There are a number of one-off prototypes and only-one-known’s of chips from the casino floor. If you’re lookong for some of the most valuable, the Golden Goose $5 chip is up there. There are two known, and they sold for approx. $75k and $22k at auction, respectively.

My recommendation is to look at what’s out there first - a lot. Take your time. See what appeals to you and what doesn’t. Then focus on the things that appeal to you the most and just collect those chips.

 

[Psypher1000]

Here at PCF we are about playable sets.

Hmmm...I’m not so sure about that. There’s quite a few singles collectors here. Playable sets may be the primary focus of most of the folks here, but the name of the form is Poker Chip Forum, not Poker Set Forum. There’s room for both chip and set enthusiasts here.

 

[BGinGA]

There’s room for both chip and set enthusiasts here.

Not if every time I go to buy a rack it only contains 99 chips. Just sayin'......

 

[Klobberer]

Seems I struck a nerve...I just paid $6/chip for Paulson Classic $20s to complete a 1000 chip set AND sent a single chip for free to a budding collector. I think we can all get along. I think PCF can be for all chip lovers to share info and resources. Kumbaya...

 

[EasyE]

Holy Grail single chips are for the biggest of whales.
Holy Grail sets on the other hand are obtainable for most everyone depending on your immediate bank roll or how patient you can be. Some have taken years to put together playable sets of epic casinos.
While chippers Grail set lists will not all be the same based on many factors, I believe they are old school Vegas Casinos with rich , thick and sometimes bloody history.
Tropicana, Dunes, Binion's Horseshoe Club, Golden Nugget, Stardust, Flamingo and Riviera to name a few. I'll tip my hat admirably to anything shown in 007/ Diamonds are Forever or Ocean's 11 '60 (y) :thumbsup:

 

[Burke]

Yep this is totally dependent on the individual. For example, personally I couldn't give a damn about most any chip that states the name of the location on it if it's not meaningful to me...that knocks off almost every chip already out there (unless you go custom ).

 

[gopherblue]

Hmmm...I’m not so sure about that. There’s quite a few singles collectors here. Playable sets may be the primary focus of most of the folks here, but the name of the form is Poker Chip Forum, not Poker Set Forum. There’s room for both chip and set enthusiasts here.

Agreed.

 

[glom]

Holy Grail single chips are for the biggest of whales.
Holy Grail sets on the other hand are obtainable for most everyone depending on your immediate bank roll or how patient you can be. Some have taken years to put together playable sets of epic casinos.
While chippers Grail set lists will not all be the same based on many factors, I believe they are old school Vegas Casinos with rich , thick and sometimes bloody history.
Tropicana, Dunes, Binion's Horseshoe Club, Golden Nugget, Stardust, Flamingo and Riviera to name a few. I'll tip my hat admirably to anything shown in 007/ Diamonds are Forever or Ocean's 11 '60 (y) :thumbsup:
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Holy grail playable sets are only available to “most everyone” because of how loosely the term seems to be used.

I have seen sets where individual chips were$50-$80 each, and the owner had a couple racks of each. These sets were part of “grail” sets, and hardly affordable by “most everyone.”

If all it takes is a little patience, and most everyone can get them, is that really the definition of a grail set?

 

[EasyE]

Holy grail playable sets are only available to “most everyone” because of how loosely the term seems to be used.

I have seen sets where individual chips were$50-$80 each, and the owner had a couple racks of each. These sets were part of “grail” sets, and hardly affordable by “most everyone.”

If all it takes is a little patience, and most everyone can get them, is that really the definition of a grail set?

If they went there with their Dad or granddad when they were little maybe to that person it is their Grail.
Elusive, significant and sought after doesn't always mean expensive or that everyone feels the same about it.

Patience isn't 7 months.
A chipper spending $20-$30 bucks a week for 4-5 years on a certain goal could put together something special to them and many others. It doesn't have to have racks costing 5-8k.
Get a barrel of those for a heads up set maybe. You don't have to go full Molly's game baller mode.

I believe most could do this as most could be "51%" . Not many will do that though.

I may have generalized somewhat but
I enjoy reading chippers stories of why a certain set means so much to them or how they bought a chip one at a time to get a heads up set together.
A holy Grail is something you love and is your favorite thing. It doesn't have to everyone's though.

And you can't put a golden goose in layaway and work towards it last I checked.

 

[Whataboutj]

I agree it's a preference. For me when i was active I was going after newer, "cooler" (to me) chips vs older more expensive ones. I have both playable sets and singles
J

 

[allforcharity]

I got my semi-grail set with the Grouse Mountains. I'll post pr0n in a few days after I have a chance to clean and oil them.

 

[Highli99]

I'm a long time chip enthusiast but only recently discovered the world of collecting sets, even though I own a set of custom CPCs. It just wasn't a world i knew existed. However, now that I know this exists i need to join. I want to start collecting a set of my own used casino chips, but I'm struggling to figure out where to start. I need to pick a set and start collecting. How did folks who've done this pick their first set to build? Any advice? I am very patient and have a decent budget, but it feels like cheating to buy a set put together by someone else.

 

[glom]

If they went there with their Dad or granddad when they were little maybe to that person it is their Grail.
Elusive, significant and sought after doesn't always mean expensive or that everyone feels the same about it.

Patience isn't 7 months.
A chipper spending $20-$30 bucks a week for 4-5 years on a certain goal could put together something special to them and many others. It doesn't have to have racks costing 5-8k.
Get a barrel of those for a heads up set maybe. You don't have to go full Molly's game baller mode.

I believe most could do this as most could be "51%" . Not many will do that though.

I may have generalized somewhat but
I enjoy reading chippers stories of why a certain set means so much to them or how they bought a chip one at a time to get a heads up set together.
A holy Grail is something you love and is your favorite thing. It doesn't have to everyone's though.

And you can't put a golden goose in layaway and work towards it last I checked.

By this definition a Danny Gans $5 mirage chip could be a grail single as well. In this case there are many affordable grail singles.

That golden goose is an anomaly. Most singles aren’t $75k.

 

[Psypher1000]

I am very patient and have a decent budget, but it feels like cheating to buy a set put together by someone else.

I understand the sentiment, but if you put together a used casino set piecemeal, your wallet is likely to pull itself out of your pocket and slit your throat. Take $5 chips, for example. Any oven used $5 chip as a single might run you $3-$30 depending on condition, property, age, etc. That same chip in quantities of 100+, however, might sell here for $70-$350 (or maybe a little more). I can appreciate the romanticism of puttin together a used set piecemeal, but it’s simply not cost effective to the extreme.

Any advice?

Spend a lot of time looking at your chips and sets that others have posted pics of here. A LOT of time. Think about what appeals to you and why, and start narrowing the field. Also take some time to think of what sets might actually be buildable. You might like the look of the Players Club chips from Montana or the Oceanside Card Club or the Normandy Club, but the odds of putting a playable set of those together is slim to none, particularly piecemeal. But you have a VERY good chance of putting together racks of old Foxwoods $1’s and $5’s, Riviera or Virgin River fractionals, and/or Europa $25 chips from bargain bins at the annual chip convention if that’s what you want to do.

Alternatively, buy a set from the classifieds here. Truly, it isn’t cheating. And there’s nothing to say you can’t buy a casino set from the classifieds now and use that while you slowly build a casino set of your own.

If you do decide to piece together something new, be sure to put up a Wanted post in the classifieds here and we’ll help you find the chips. Also be sure to ask a few of us to help you look for them at the convention, even if you will be there yourself. It doesn’t hurt to have multiple sets of eyes looking for them (as long as all those eyes aren’t bidding/shopping against one another).

 

[Highli99]

I understand the sentiment, but if you put together a used casino set piecemeal, your wallet is likely to pull itself out of your pocket and slit your throat. Take $5 chips, for example. Any oven used $5 chip as a single might run you $3-$30 depending on condition, property, age, etc. That same chip in quantities of 100+, however, might sell here for $70-$350 (or maybe a little more). I can appreciate the romanticism of puttin together a used set piecemeal, but it’s simply not cost effective to the extreme.


Spend a lot of time looking at your chips and sets that others have posted pics of here. A LOT of time. Think about what appeals to you and why, and start narrowing the field. Also take some time to think of what sets might actually be buildable. You might like the look of the Players Club chips from Montana or the Oceanside Card Club or the Normandy Club, but the odds of putting a playable set of those together is slim to none, particularly piecemeal. But you have a VERY good chance of putting together racks of old Foxwoods $1’s and $5’s, Riviera or Virgin River fractionals, and/or Europa $25 chips from bargain bins at the annual chip convention if that’s what you want to do.

Alternatively, buy a set from the classifieds here. Truly, it isn’t cheating. And there’s nothing to say you can’t buy a casino set from the classifieds now and use that while you slowly build a casino set of your own.

If you do decide to piece together something new, be sure to put up a Wanted post in the classifieds here and we’ll help you find the chips. Also be sure to ask a few of us to help you look for them at the convention, even if you will be there yourself. It doesn’t hurt to have multiple sets of eyes looking for them (as long as all those eyes aren’t bidding/shopping against one another).

Thank you. Some good ideas in here to think about.

 

[Vice]

I've been collecting single chips for about 15 years and just recently found this site and discovered people collect sets. The singles I have range in value (not face value) from $5 to the most expensive chip I have which is about $150. I'm not sure I could ever plunk down 3k for a set of Paulson's but I like the idea of having a few sets. One things for sure, the shipping and storage space for my singles is significantly lower that for sets lol.

 

[Klobberer]

Storage...absolutely. Shipping...on a per chip basis...no way. Cost me $3.50 to ship one chip in a bubble envelope!

 

[Klobberer]

I would kill for that New China Club set...literally! That shows up at a meet up I'm attending, I'm killing all witnesses and taking it.

 

[gopherblue]

I would kill for that New China Club set...literally! That shows up at a meet up I'm attending, I'm killing all witnesses and taking it.

Err...This one?

Remind me to steer clear of West Chester, PA.

 

[Klobberer]

I saw one of the $1s for sale on eBay and fell in love. So far I have the HS .50, both HS $1s and both yellow $5s. Then I searched on PCF and had my mind blown! How long did that take and how much did you pay per chip? I'm thinking maybe I'll shoot for a complete sample set...unless you're headed to WC!

 

[Klobberer]

I should say two of the yellow $5s, I have the HS, but not the hula girl.

 

[Klobberer]

Do you play with that set, or pour a nice glass of bourbon and sit and stare? Stop shuffling my China Clubs, you cretins!

 

[gopherblue]

No point in having a set that doesn’t get played...but because the set is small and lacks higher denoms it is harder to get in play than some of my others.

 

[Klobberer]

My group is only into tourneys. The only cash game is a .25/.50 after 2-3 players bust out. Those China Clubs would be perfect...

 

[glom]

My group is only into tourneys. The only cash game is a .25/.50 after 2-3 players bust out. Those China Clubs would be perfect...

Where I come from .25/.50 for 8 players needs about $6k in chips on a typical night.

 

[MaxB]

I have a single holy grail chip and someday I will find one (comes in four colors)

 

[Klobberer]

Where I come from .25/.50 for 8 players needs about $6k in chips on a typical night.

So...1500BB stack size. That's pretty deep!