Well, the plaques offered NJ and holdempokerchips.com are ceramic. Ceramic plaques are new to the market. Plaques are not new to home gaming, though. There are many sets, which were made for wealthy individuals, in the private sector, using mother of pearl plaques. In casinos, which offer plaques, the plaques are generally reserved for only the highest denominations. In a casino setting, plaques won't often share a value with the chips or jetons on the floor. Plaques offer security and they're less fragile than a clay chip. They're also harder to lose. They are reserved for the high limit table games(like baccarat). Also, casino plaques are acrylic, not ceramic. The reason why the NJ set has chips and plaques of the same value is because the chips came first. NJ realizes not everyone wants plaques, that is why the sets overlap and the plaques don't take on a sequential value. Some people just prefer the plaques because of their newness.
Here's a set most likely made for an individual and not a licensed room; they're mother of pearl. The set went for $787 recently on eBay.
