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Poker Chips
The game of poker began in the middle 1800's in bars,
saloons and on riverboats in the mid-west and western
United States. The word "poker" was derived from the
French game, "Poque" and the British game, "Brag."
Coins, gold dust and gold nuggets were used as the
monetary units in early poker games. Soon thereafter,
chips replaced coins and gold particles, as they were
easier to manage. Chips were made from ivory, bone,
wood, paper and a composition made from clay and
shellac.
The problem with these plain surface chips, is that
shady characters could sneak their own chips into the
game. Often, the establishment would end the game with
many more chips than they began.
To counteract the "ringing in" of chips, manufacturers
began to include a design to differentiate them from
others. The design could be engraved, embossed, inlaid
or a paste-on sticker. Ivory chips were hand scrimshawed
with numerals, initials, flowers, animals and just about
any type of design. The ivory chips were made to order
so that each customer would have a set unlike any other
set. Sometimes, there were only minor differences
between sets, but they would not be the same.
Clay composition poker chips were made by several
companies between the 1880's and the late 1930's. There
were over 1000 designs from which to choose. Most chips
were white, red, blue and yellow but they could be made
in most any color desired.
The most expensive clay composition poker chips were
made by the U.S. Playing Card co. in Cincinnati, OH,
1907-1939. These were "Crest & Seal" chips, which were
composed of a circular lithograph, embedded into the
clay, with a "Seal" of a polyurethane type liquid, over
the entire surface. The Burt Co., in Portland, ME began
making these Crest & Seal chips cerca 1940 and continued
until they closed about 1985.
Plastics became the material of choice for less
expensive home poker sets in the 1940's, and continue to
be popular today. They are injection molded, long
lasting, come in many designs and are easily obtained.
However, they do not have the "feel" or the quality of
the pre-1940's chips. The best quality chips that are
made currently are the ones made for casinos and poker
rooms, either clay composition or injection molded
chips.
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Poker Chips
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Shop club poker league store for poker books, poker clothing, poker gear, card protectors, playing cards, poker chips, poker sets, game sets, cut cards, poker tables, craps tables, roulette tables, and blackjack tables.
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