Other fantasy poker chips have been made to celebrate the memory of a defunct casino. Most of these are just made for fun, like a James Bond-themed chip from the fictional Casino de Isthmus City. Newbies should be aware, though, that some poker-chip manufacturers produce new fantasy casino chips, which resemble casino chips but are worth far less. Chips from casinos that have gone out of business, like the Playboy Club in Atlantic City or the Dunes in Las Vegas, are most desirable. For these reasons, vintage chips won or bought at a casino are rare and highly collectible, particularly ones of higher denominations.

Others are cancelled by having a hole drilled into them, getting notched, or being overstamped and then sold as souvenirs. These are treated like money at casinos and are often destroyed when removed from circulation. In contrast, casino chips, usually made of clay composite, tend to be marked with the name of the casino, the city, state, and denomination. A full set of poker chips for home use, vintage or not, generally consists of 100 white, 50 red, and 50 blue chips. They’re often made of inexpensively of compressed plastic while vintage poker chips from the 1920s to the 1950s in particular were often made of Bakelite or Catalin. These chips, which have little value, usually have a picture on them (a portrait, animal, or object such as a car, crown, or lighthouse) and no denominations-players determine their value by the colors. That’s why it is important to distinguish “poker chips” from “casino chips.” Poker chips are mass produced and widely sold for private play. Chips from long-gone casinos like El Rancho Vegas, which operated from 1941 to 1960, evoke a particular nostalgia.

On the casino floor, businessmen in swanky suits and elegant ladies in evening gowns crowded around the high-roller tables. On stage, the Rat Pack was the headliner. Well, maybe that wasn't us, but we can still enjoy some the vintage poker chips.Ĭollectors are particularly attracted to chips from the heyday of casinos, the glamorous era of Las Vegas and Atlantic City after World War II. ( )=įor poker players, the old days are the glory days-when players tossed expensive, monogrammed chips into the pot, passed around a box of fine cigars, and relaxed at their private casino table while waiting for a fellow magnate to bid or fold. Interesting, with a number of errors and omissions. I just stumbled across this article from 'Collector’s Weekly'.

Vintage poker chip set