Why don't square edge ceramics exist? (3 Viewers)

[BGinGA]

I'm not convinced that the original ceramic chips used by The Regency were made by Chipco International. The casino operated from 1981-1987, and John Kendall didn't start Chipco International until 1985 (after buying the Burt Co. assets).

Those conflicting dates, combined with the ceramic chip's square-edge design along with later manufacturing samples produced by Chipco (see chipguide.com), leads me to believe that Chipco offered their services for possible replacement chips, but did not manufacture the original ceramic chips used by the casino.

EDIT: Given @gmunny's info supplied below, the Regency operational dates shown on chipguide.com are incorrect -- LA Times reported that it was open 1991-1992, several years *after* Chipco was founded and making chips.

 

[rjdev7]

Interesting. Any idea how we could prove that?

 

[mike32]

I *think* the old square edge (possibly Chipco) blanks also had no concave surface. The problem was the entire chip face would wear away after heavy use. Chipco's solution to this problem was the "modern" blank we see today, which has rounded edges and a slightly concave surface. This is also what causes the Chipco "white ring" we are all familiar with, but makes the print on the face last quite a bit longer.

This is all speculation on my part, but it makes sense to me.

 

[Mike mac]

playing with sharp glass is good for your felt.

 

[BGinGA]

Related to this discussion, some of ABC's older blanks had/have a very square edge -- much more block-ish than other available ceramics at the time (Chipco, PGI, Sun-Fly). I don't think I'd classify it as 'sharp', but it certainly stood on edge with no trouble.

Compare the chip edge on the left (more square) to the one on the right (rounded with an edge lip) -- both from ABC, but clearly using different blanks:

These Rebuy chips have very square edges:

 

[rjdev7]

Forgot, the Regency Bell Californias were definitely made by Chipco, since I've seen many manufacturer samples, including on the ChipGuide:

 

[rjdev7]

Related to this discussion, some of ABC's older blanks had/have a very square edge -- much more block-ish than other available ceramics at the time (Chipco, PGI, Sun-Fly). I don't think I'd classify it as 'sharp', but it certainly stood on edge with no trouble.

These Rebuy chips have very square edges:

Those rebuy chips are the closest I've seen, I think. Are they 39mm?

I'd make a 10,000 chip set if these blanks still existed.

 

[rjdev7]

I just found some more evidence in this thread that I hadn't seen before: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...from-casino-de-monte-carlo-monaco-1990.51339/

These appear to be an early variant of the protech line of chips made by chipco:

The edge patterns offered are seen on various Regency Bell California chips:

compared to the $1 Regency edge

compared to the $2 Regency edge

 

[BGinGA]

Forgot, the Regency Bell Californias were definitely made by Chipco, since I've seen many manufacturer samples, including on the ChipGuide:
View attachment 471070

Those manufacturing samples are different from the actual casino chips, and do not provide definitive proof that Chipco made the originals (or even replacement chips)..... especially given the timelines Chipco International didn't exist when The Regency opened in 1981.

Those rebuy chips are the closest I've seen, I think. Are they 39mm?

I'd make a 10,000 chip set if these blanks still existed.

Yes, the donkey rebuy chips shown above are 39mm. ABC recently made me a small custom set of 47mm Reload chips that also have very square edges.

 

[gmunny]

Dang.. now i have to go look through all my chipco chips and catalogs. Nice post, btw.

 

[gmunny]

As far as the Regency Club, the dates on the Chip Guide, along with Dick Staeffler's and Armin's guides maybe incorrect. I found a few LA Times articles one from 1990 and another from 1995. Per LA times, here is the dates they have the following 3 clubs, all with an address of 4901 Eastern Avenue, Bell CA:

California Bell Club - Opened in 1979 and was closed in 1990 (vs chip guide 1974-1980)
Regency Club - purchase by John Chi and renamed it in 1991. Not sure when it closed, but it seems like the following year. (vs 1981-1987)
Bell Jackpot Casino - reopened under new ownership managed in 1995 (1995-1995)

LA Times Article

Now the date discrepancy could be from using grant or active dates on gaming licenses, but not entirely sure, but it could explain the chipco date.

 

[BGinGA]

@gmunny -- based on that LA Times article, The Regency appears to have been in operation only from 1991-1992. This makes a lot more sense, since we know Chipco did not produce any ceramic chips prior to 1985 (and neither did anybody else).

So the chipguide operational dates of 1981-1987 really don't add up -- if The Regency actually opened in 1981, what chips were they using? Certainly not ceramics....

And that brings us back to the question of who's ceramic chips they were using while open in 1991-1992, which pretty much leaves Chipco holding the bag -- nobody else was yet making ceramics back then. So it must have been a different blank than the Protech, which came later. A square-edge blank.

 

[gmunny]

@BGinGA I was able to dig out an old Chipco Catalog from my chip library. Here are few pages.

Regency listed below on the right.

These look pretty square

 

[rjdev7]

Yup that’s the same blank. Thanks for confirming. How can I get my hands on an old Chipco catalog like that? Very cool!

 

[Deltasidearm]

It's a shame these blanks aren't in production for end consumers. I would be all over them.

 

[warewulf]

BG has a really nice textured Ceramic. I've always like these Palms chips. I don't recall if they're flat edges though. Of course, only available to casinos.

http://chipguide.themogh.org/cg_chip2.php?id=NVLVPA&v=1251191816

 

[upNdown]

Got my samples yesterday. They’re cool. I’ guess I’d put them much closer to “just another ceramic blank” than revolutionary. lack of any noticeable injection point is where they shine. The square-er edges are noticeable when handling, but not significantly so. They do look a bit cleaner when stacked and racked, but only if you look closely.
The texture is nice.
Sure, I’d choose this blank first, but I’m not sure how much of a premium I’d pay for it.
here they are, racked with some other chipcos: