All,
7th Seat has his MGMs and I've gravitated to the California Club. For that reason, I've decided to post just the CCs in one place much like he has done with his MGM collection. Here they are, by release. I used the
Official US Casino Chip Price Guide as a base, but have since modified these based on research I have done, as well as my personal feelings and assumptions.
Future acquisitions will appear here in the O.P. as well as a standalone post in this thread with details.
1st edition. (Burt Co., hub-mold) The first edition featured a bear on the front (in metallic ink) as well as the casino name and denomination on the back.
The brown visible on the back (best seen on the $100 above) is likely the glue that held the inlay in place before and during pressing. A little over 60 years is showing in this case.
2nd edition. (Unknown, diamond mold).
My suspicion was that these were part of the first issue
after the re-opening in 1951. The strange one is the blue, hot-stamp $0.25. I bought this one from James Campiglia who reported that this one was essentially new to him (and it's not in either his book or TCR). He knew of only one other example (for certain) and a possible third. It's grouped here as it has the diamond mold, but does
not have a stamp calling it "Phil Long's..." which is the only other diamond mold know to be used for the California Club.
3rd edition. (Taylor & Co., T-Mold) These likely first saw play in the earliest part of 1954 as records from Taylor & Co. show they were shipped in mid-December 1953. The most valuable chip in my whole collection is here... the $25.
The well worn 25-cent at top left was originally issued as a non-denominated chip. The denomination was over-stamped at a later date. This particular chip is in pretty rough shape. It appears as if it may have suffered water damage or maybe exposure to heat on one side.
4th ed. (?). (T.R. King, large crown)
The Chip Rack has the date for this issue (this roulette specifically) as 1957, which makes sense timing-wise. C&W has an issue, which they call the 5th ed., that used the small crown mold. The roulettes were probably made at the same time (as part of the same issue).
The small crown is new, and now it really doesn't make sense that there would be two very different roulette issues at the same time. I bet one or the other actually belongs somewhere else. The frustration of research.
5th edition. (unknown, small key) C&W lists this one chip as the first edition, but casinorarities.com calls it 5th. I'm tending to agree with the latter interpretation because the inlay seems too detailed for the mid-40s and there is reason to believe the hub-mold issue truly was first (I'm working on confirmation of this).
The first time I looked at the $25 chip (and even mentioned in my other gallery) I thought the yellow markings were trees, but during the cleanup of the new scan here it I realized the yellow is markings defining the edge of the flag of the state of California (which, for those not familiar, features a bear facing left, a red stripe at the bottom and a red star in the upper left, visible here between the F and O in California.)
7th edition. (Christy Jones, H&C) This issue was highlighted by a large number of $5 chips with different colored edge spots. Apparently these were swapped out quite frequently. I was able to round out the set in a great transaction with James Campiglia. Unless there are any unknown green $5, I think I'm set with these!
This $1 chip is well worn, but most of them are. I didn't bother cleaning it as it would make it look very out of place. A better one would be nice, but it may be unlikely.
This $5 has the California Club on one side and the Pioneer Club on the other. It's not a misprint but was done intentionally. This makes sense as in the latter part of the life of the California Club, the Pioneer was literally right next door. The CC was later absorbed into the Pioneer. This chip is essentially out of the box new. The hot-stamp is so shiny, it doesn't scan all that well. It's almost dazzling in person.
This is a very worn 7th edition faro chip. Overall, it's in good condition, but the foil for the hot-stamp is gone. In the right light, the indentation shows up just fine, but it is a little hard to see in the scan.
Technically these three are 7th edition (if you believe C&W). They look different enough from the other 7th editions (specifically, with the shaped inlays, narrower spots, and the transition to more traditional Las Vegas colors) that I've set them aside here as a 7th-and-a-half.
8th edition (unknown, Nevada mold)
Enjoy, and always, I love to see your comments. Any heads up on CCs that you spot for sale that aren't here are also welcome!
Newest additions:
20080528 - New 4th ed. SM Crown roulette (orange).
20080409 - New 7th ed. $5s (white and blue spots) as well as a new 7th ed. $5 (CC/Pioneer shared chip).
20080305 - New 2nd ed. $0.25 and 7th ed. $1
20080110 - 2nd ed. $1 and 5th ed. faro.
20071129 - New scans for all chips. Added 3rd ed. 25-cent OS and 5th ed. roulette. Re-ordered releases.
20071116 - 7th ed. $5s, brown and lavender spots and orange spot 8th ed. $100.
20071115 - 2nd ed. $0.25 and 7th ed. faro.
20071027 - 3rd ed. $0.25.
20071024 - 1st ed. $0.25 and black spot 7th ed. $5
20071007 - Salmon spot 7th ed. $5.
20071005 - A proper scan of the 3rd ed. $25 and the 7th ed. $0.25.
I guess I will have to give my MGM thread a make-over.
(or would that be 
?? Sorry... I had to!)
Linear Mode
