You would probably think that poker chips… is this subject to talk about? I would say Yes, it is. In our day-to-day life, we go through many things which we do not have any knowledge of. I am trying to give you some information about the history and manufacturing of poker chips from the era, the poker game started. The most common material types used today in the manufacture of modern poker chips are plastic, clay composite, and acrylic composite. Clay chips, the oldest of the bunch, have been manufactured in America since the late 1800s.
I would say, 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 made of a circular lithograph, rooted into the clay, with a "Seal" of a polyurethane type liquid, over the entire surface. As you all know, 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." In the early days of poker game, coins, gold dust and sometime gold nuggets were used as the exchange units. After that it was replaced by chips as they were easier to manage. These chips were a composition made from clay and shellac and also from pieces of ivory, bone, wood and paper.
With the explosive growth of online gaming and specialty TV shows and even the World Series of Poker, public interest in poker has accelerated faster than ever before. Despite online poker’s rise, nothing replaces the feeling of shuffling heavy clay poker chips in your hand, throwing chips into the center of a casino table, or stacking tall piles of chips after showing a victorious poker hand. With poker being known as the “cheating game,” many precautions have been taken with counterfeit poker chips. Unlike the poker chips of yesteryear, which counterfeiters could copy in any basement, poker chips are no longer so easy to reproduce. The idea of injecting molds for poker chips and adding coin inserts have helped to narrow down the problem, as have the additions of UV dyes and holograms on the face of the poker chips.
Stay tuned for more exciting stuff about online poker…
