Long-Term Storage (3 Viewers)

[BearMetal]

I keep all my chips in Matsui racks. The racks are stacked up in a safe I had installed in my basement. No light or anything gets in or out. Works for me.


7 rows deep...I actually outgrew the dam thing...

Where are the new DB holders going to go!? There's no space left!

 

[Split]

I've seen marks left on chips in Paulson racks when stacked. In process of switching all my chips over to Matsui racks.

View attachment 386944View attachment 386945

TLDR: Storing chips in stacks six racks high caused "shine damage" to many of my Pauslon starburst racks, but it's not really that big of a deal if you plan to use your chips regularly.

So I have some anecdotal experience to relate that some may find useful. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to share, but Tommy's photography is no doubt better than what I could manage anyway.

I had thousands of chips stacked in racks from fall 2016 until spring/summer 2022, so just under six years. The racks were all Paulson or 66.7 marked racks, and they were all stacked six high. In fall of 2016 the racks were wrapped in cellophane tightly enough to prevent wobbling, driven for 400+ miles, put into my closet and sat there until I came out of hibernation this spring. The chips were mostly Paulson starbursts and most likely of leaded vintage, although I had a handful of BCC chips in the mix as well. I had no TRKs stacked this way, and only one rack of ASM chips that were in the bottom of my only four high stack. That stack had two Hispania and one BCC rack on top of it, so it was a light stack of three racks on top. All racks had an upside down rack stacked on top. I observed damage with both Paulson and 66.7 racks as the rack above the damaged chips.

Here are my observations:

Paulsons: Most (but not all) racks that were on the bottom level (i.e. five racks on top, for a total of six racks) had some degree of this damage. If a barrel or chip stuck out higher for almost any reason, it almost certainly had damage. The likelihood of damage decreased each rack higher in the stack. I never saw damage on the top rack, and rarely on the rack that was second from the top. Sometimes a rack that was say 3rd from the top would have damage, while the rack that was 4th from the top wouldn't.

BCC: Sometimes the BCC chips showed this damage, although it was less obvious and less likely to occur. I had a small sample size of BCCs stored in this manner.

Hispania: Does anyone else even have racks of Hispania chips? There may have been some slight damage from the rack or two on top of these chips, but you'd never notice if you weren't looking closely. Once the chips in the barrel get rotated, you'd never be able to tell.

ASM: My one ASM rack stored this way only had a rack of BCC and two racks of Hispania (lightweight) chips on top, but there was no sign of damage.

I would describe the damage as shine damage. My hypothesis is that we're seeing wear from contact with the rack above. It's not certain whether the weight alone is sufficient to cause the damage (compression?), or if it's from the movement from driving (in this case, although carrying the racks around would also generate plenty of movement). Weight definitely seems to contribute to the damage, although the color the the chip (in the case of Paulsons) seems to be a factor in whether or not the chips get damaged. The condition of my chips ranged from near mint to very good condition. In other words, they all hard sharp edges, and none showed signs of rounding. I doubt if you would be able to notice this damage on worn chips, as the "damage" would already be there. I don't think this is some sort of chemical reaction, although I obviously can't rule that out. I almost certainly transported a few thousand other BCC chips and hundreds of Grand Victoria RHCs this way, and I didn't notice any damage on them. However, these chips were unpacked immediately after moving, and since it's been almost six years I'm not 100% certain how I transported them. I can't imagine I did anything different though. As such, I think time is an important factor here.

Are the chips ruined? Of course not. I doubt that anyone who isn't on this forum would notice, and once you get the chips in play it should blend in with the normal wear anyway. Once the chips in the barrel are rotated (or, you know, put into play after sitting in storage for way too long), the shine won't be in a straight line and would be even harder to notice. For me, this was a contributing factor in converting my stacked chip storage from Paulson and 66.7 to the Matsui and Apache racks, although it's not the only reason. I haven't changed my cardboard storage at all. However, if this is something you're worried about, it may be worth considering limiting your stack height or using Matsui/Apache/Warneke as your stacked storage solution. Certainly if you're planning to drive the chips several hundred miles to a new home then throw them in a closet for several years while you're away from poker and chipping, I recommend that you limit stack height. If they're in your regular rotation of chips that get played, it's probably not worth worrying about.

I hope that this helps ease your mind. Alternatively, if it makes you more paranoid, I hope that it helps you take steps to ease your mind. Even better, I hope it encourages you to get that forgotten set into play!