[Cellemetry]

Should you clean the grime off of collector chips or leave them alone?

[ross]

Originally Posted by Cellemetry

Should you clean the grime off of collector chips or leave them alone?

Well that's a good question that deserves and answer - except that I can't give you one. Cleaning chips (whether they be old, or new) is sort of a personal decision. However if you decide to clean your chips you need to be very careful with some of the older ones - especially hotstamps (you can literally scrub the hotstamp off the chip) and with inlaid chips that are a little fragile.

In general I try not to clean too many of my older chips - I do a high-level cleaning (getting the "taj-gunk" as I call it off the chip) but I try to be careful with the rest. I use the chip cleaning solution sold by (darn - memory failing, I'll find it) and a child's toothbrush to clean around the mold, being careful to do no harm on the inlay/hotstamp.

[Double Eagle]

In general, if it is a collectible chip that you may want to resell at a later date I would not try to clean it as you may reduce its value. If it is just a chip for your personal "fun" collection, then have at it.

[Colquhoun]

I would venture to say that the more it is worth, the further you should keep this from any cleaning solution. Check out this article...it is regarding antique furniture, but the rules still apply here.
http://www.realestatejournal.com/hom...2-jeffrey.html

[jamby]

Here's an excellent article on cleaning vs. not cleaning collectible chips from the Casino Chip and Gaming Token Collectors Club web site: http://www.ccgtcc.com/cleaning.html.

For the most part, if you are going to later sell/trade the chip you should avoid cleaning.

Also, some very old chips don't have sealed inlays and can be severely damaged if cleaned so if you do clean you should use a great deal of caution and care.

I don't clean collectibles.

-jamby

[PhilTheThrill14]

[]

I have yet to understand why a clean chip is a bad thing. Hey everyone, look at my collectible 1957 Corvette - isn't it nice and dirty - the mud on the rear quarter-panel is from 62 - the bird poop on the windshield is all the back in '59.? How about my nice Ming Dynasty Vase oiver here - look at 100's of years of dust build-up - aint that awesome?

Why removing years of human-gunk from a chip would possibly decrease it's collectibility is beyond me - maybe I should bottle the stuff and seel it so collectors can apply it to chips that have not gotten so dirty...

[]

[jamby]

Because cleaning a chip can damange it and/or give it an unnatural appearance thereby diminishing its inherent value.

[Couga]

Originally Posted by PhilTheThrill14

[]

I have yet to understand why a clean chip is a bad thing. Hey everyone, look at my collectible 1957 Corvette - isn't it nice and dirty - the mud on the rear quarter-panel is from 62 - the bird poop on the windshield is all the back in '59.? How about my nice Ming Dynasty Vase oiver here - look at 100's of years of dust build-up - aint that awesome?

Why removing years of human-gunk from a chip would possibly decrease it's collectibility is beyond me - maybe I should bottle the stuff and seel it so collectors can apply it to chips that have not gotten so dirty...

[]

I am in the same boat. I have several old collectable chips. I prefer my chips clean. However.... (isn't there always a however?) Some collectors look at the chip as not only a collectors item but a piece of history. They believe over time the dirt and grime on a chip is part of it's character, part of it's history. Washing that away would take all that history away from the chip. I look at it like polishing aged copper. Some people like the aged green look of oxidized copper.... Some like the shiny gold look of polished copper.

Bottom line is cleaning is a matter of personal preference. There is always a risk of damaging a chip but if you plan on keeping the chip and like it clean, then clean it. As far as resale value is concerned there are people who are willing to pay more for a "clean" chip, and some that will pay more for a chip with the "Character" it has collected over the years. I would not worry about resale value of the chip, it is what you like that matters.

If you do decide to clean the chip, I recommend diamond chip cleaner from thechiproom.com.

Take Care,
Tom Hanson

[PhilTheThrill14]

Originally Posted by jamby

Because cleaning a chip can damange it and/or give it an unnatural appearance thereby diminishing its inherent value.

And if you use a grinder on the corvette you can damage it as well. One must assume when we talk about cleaning the chip, we are talking about taking the proper steps and doing it right.

[jamby]

To continue with the vintage car analogy - I liken it to the value of a car with original paint vs. one that has been repainted.