horseshoe and whip chips (1 Viewer)

[jcsteimer]

Hello,
I am trying to learn about some antique poker chips and this is a collectible I have never learned about. So of course the fist thing i did was go to google. That lead me to some chips being auctioned off by potter house, and that lead me to a collector who recently past away and was a member of this community. I dont know where to start so I wanted to open this up to this community to help me start to learn. Can anyone help point me in the right direction about these chips? I believe the chips are called Horse and Whip chips. Thank you and I apologize if I am ignorant on this topic but i am happy to learn.

 

[Jeff in Iowa]

I assume you are asking about the chips in your profile image. The chips are a bit hard to see in that image, but I think it is possible that those are ivory chips. If you posted a larger image in your post, I could tell for sure. (They could also possibly be crest and seal chips.)

If they are ivory chips, they were likely made before 1910, and most likely during the 1800s. They are very valuable. Ivory chips with simple designs often sell around $50 each, and ones with more complex designs like yours sell for much more. People on this forum are more focused on buying large sets of pokers chips that they can play poker with. That would be hard to achieve with ivory chips. God forbid one of the players walked away with one of the chips.

There is another forum (www.thechipboard.com) where people who collect your type of chip hang out. You will find more people very knowledgeable about your chips, and very very interested in buying them. If you do post there, be sure to post a clear photo, and use your full name. People on that forum are a bit older on average, and often don't respond to people using a nickname.

 

[jcsteimer]

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. I believe they are ivory. I do t know if this is any bigger I will see if I can take some.better pictures tomorrow to show the details but have a feathering opaqueness to them and they feel lighter then my clay chips. They were in a wooden box my great grandfather made from the 1930’s or 1940. So I know they are much older then that. Do y'all usually see sets of Ivory chips come around?

 

[mnebesny]

If they are ivory chips, they were likely made before 1910, and most likely during the 1800s. They are very valuable. Ivory chips with simple designs often sell around $50 each, and ones with more complex designs like yours sell for much more. People on this forum are more focused on buying large sets of pokers chips that they can play poker with. That would be hard to achieve with ivory chips. God forbid one of the players walked away with one of the chips.

Also, I'm pretty sure that some states/regions have laws about ivory and when you can sell it, so you might want to check the rules in your area to make sure you aren't setting yourself up for any legal trouble.

And welcome to the forum!

 

[jcsteimer]

Great advice I think the first thing I need to do is take it somewhere to see what I have if it is clay or ivory. How do you find people knowledgeable about this? How did you learn? Also thank you Jeff

 

[jcsteimer]

Also, I'm pretty sure that some states/regions have laws about ivory and when you can sell it, so you might want to check the rules in your area to make sure you aren't setting yourself up for any legal trouble.

And welcome to the forum!

I am not positive but looks like if they are ivory they were made before 1910 and this over 100 years old so they are ok to sell. Looks like I am going back down the poker chip rabbit hole tomorrow.

 

[Jeff in Iowa]

The late Robert Eisenstadt wrote a tutorial on how to identify ivory chips. You can read it here; https://www.antiquegamblingchips.com/distinguish_iv_bon_cel.htm

Ivory chips typically have an intersecting curved grain. He does not mention it there, but there is sometimes a small dark spot in the very center, sometimes slightly cracked, where the elephant's nerve passed through the center of the tusk.

Edit: I just noticed your better photo above. Yes, definitely ivory.

 

[CrazyEddie]

I agree with Jeff. Your picture has just enough detail to see the telltale grain of ivory chips.

Here is a site with pictures of many different ivory chips, including ones that look like yours: http://www.oldpokerchips.com/IVORY/IDobjectsMM.htm

We don't discuss ivory chips very often here on PCF, simply because mostly we're looking for playable sets and that's very hard to do with ivory chips. Nevertheless, there's some useful information to be had by reading some posts here. Here's a google search that will show you PCF posts about ivory: https://www.google.com/search?q=site:pokerchipforum.com+ivory

... but do note that many of those posts are talking about the color ivory, rather than the material.

As I think you've discovered, ivory that's old enough is legal to sell in most US jurisdictions, and these chips certainly qualify. That said, some marketplaces, including eBay, ban the sale of any ivory even if it would be legal. Nevertheless, ivory chips are listed on eBay all the time; you'll usually find them described as "old west poker chips" but you can again identify them as ivory by looking for the telltale intersecting curved grain and very often the nerve hole as well, not to mention they simply look like ivory chips, i.e. they have the sorts of designs that you can see at the oldpokerchips.com website above.

I don't think I've seen any ivory chips sold here on PCF; again, it's just not really much of an interest around here - although a few of us have recently started collecting them thanks to the Eisenstadt estate sale! I'm up to fifteen in my own collection!

Welcome to PCF, and congratulations on finding these chips and wanting to learn more about them. Whether you decide to keep them or sell them, you've just scratched the surface of a fascinating subject.