Many new chip collectors easily get confused about the
chip terminology in our hobby.  Hopefully this guide will
help.

Some of these definitions came from the website of the Casino Chip
& Gaming Token Collectors Club (CC&GTCC) of which I have
been a proud member since 1995.

First here are a few chip concepts that precede the "chiptionary":

Chip vs. Cheque/Check:  Chips have no cash value, there is no
denomination on a chip.  A cheque on the other hand represents
a redeemable cash value.  Technically just about all the chips
found in casinos and in the home games sets we sell are in fact
cheques because a denomination is printed on them.  Chips are
usually found on roulette tables as the player can assign any
value to them when he buys into the game to start playing.
For an ease of understanding we refer to chips and cheques alike
simply as chips.

Coin Alligned vs. Metal Aligned:  This is the relationship of
the obverse to reverse alignment of the design on the chip.
With a coin aligned chip the subjects are one right side up
and the other side upside down when rotating the chip left to
right or right to left.  Metal aligned has its design right
side up on both sides when rotated left to right or right to
left.  Chipco chips are neither coin nor metal aligned.  Since
the faces are printed separately and they are randomly fed into
the machine you will find a countless variety of face to face
alignments within a group of Chipco chips.

Now on to the chip terms...

Denomination:  The value printed on the face of a chip.

Edge:  The outermost portion of a chip. By balancing a chip
perpendicular to a flat surface it is said to be standing on
it's edge.  This is sometimes referred to as the "rolling
edge" since if you were to roll a chip it would have to be
standing on edge.

Edge Spots:  Offsetting colors printed on the rolling edge
that are different than the base color of the chip.

Edge Text:  Text or symbols printed on the rolling edge of
a chip.  This is a feature that Chipco originated with
their Pro-Tech® chip.  Generally this is a characteristic
found only on ceramic chips.



Inlay:  Center of the chip where graphics appear.  Some refer
to this as the "face" of the chip.  With a Chipco chip this
is the edge to edge surface where on a traditional clay chip
it is a smaller space surrounded by the mold area.

Insert:  Colored markings (single and multiple stripes) around
the inlay, unique to the particular chip style and denomination.
Used as a security device and also for chip identification.

Mold:  A die used to create the basic relief design on plastic
and clay chips.  The Chipco chips that we sell do not have a
mold area on them.



Obverse: Referring to the front or "heads side" of a chip.

Plaque:  Rectangular square-shaped or oval cheque primarily
used in European casinos. 



Reverse:  Referring to the back or "tails" side of a chip.



Rim:  Sometimes mistakingly called the edge.  A chip stands
on it's edge, not it's rim.  The rim is usually the area of
the chip that contains the mold.  On a Chipco chip the rim
is often used for text that is curved above and below the
graphical focal point of the chip.

Take a look at some of our other guides to learn more about the
exciting hobby of casino chip collecting.

*~*~*~*~*~*

We've been collecting chips since 1986, selling them since 1995,
on eBay since 1998 and working with Chipco International to make
custom chips since '98 as well.  If you have any questions about casino
chips, custom chips or eBay feel free to contact me through our
About Me page.