Hope y’all see the humor in my title. I can see in my short time here on PCF that the choices are endless, and what some hate, others love. And apparently some of your budgets are endless as well! Dang, are all you guys spending 5 figures on your collections single? I’m trying to keep my costs under $500, honestly, WAY under if I can. And my wife is still gonna be pissed when she asks how much it all cost! LOL! So what will work best for me is probably WAY down the list for what most of you guys like to buy and use.
Anyway, so many people have tried to help me already, and I keep hijacking other people’s threads, so I figured it was time to create my own and put everything in one place. Here are my criteria for the perfect set of chips:
- What I’m looking for is chips that look and feel as close to clay casino chips as possible, but…
- On an EXTREME budget. Ideally across the set an average cost per chip between 20-25 cents.
- Not slugged. Would like a weight of 8-10 oz per chip. 10 oz Milanos feel just about perfect.
- And finally, edge spots. I LOVE edge spots. Majority of the chips must have nice colors and at least two colors of edge spots.
My Claysmith samples showed up in the mail today. I ordered Milanos and one of their slugged sets. I love the Milanos! They appear to be pretty much exactly what I’m looking for. I also got samples of the cheaper Rock & Roll. I don’t love them, but I suppose I could possibly live with a different slugged chip, although I’d have to see them first. I really like the lighter weight of the Milanos, and the sound they make when dropped or splashed.
OK, you say, so if I love the MIlanos, then what’s the problem??? Issues:
- Cost – Between both a cash set and a tournament set I’d like to buy about 1400+ chips. So that puts 100% Milanos over the budget! I suppose I could buy a few now and add to the set over time. That’s certainly an option. I might be able to distract the wife with that trick. But if I could put together a set with another chip that’s just as good AND Cheaper- more better!
- Denominations – I’d really like to have a nickel chip for .05/.10 cash games. (I told you I was cheap!) There is no 5 cent Milano chip, so I seem to have three choices – (a) get some custom labels, (b) assemble a mixed set, or (c) use the $5 chip as a nickel in low stakes cash games. The first option means more money, so it’s the last resort. And I’d prefer to have a dedicated nickel chip.
- Mixed Set – This is the way I’ve been leaning. I’ve been eying some discontinued DaVinci chips at ChipsandGames.com on clearance. They have an unlabeled chip that could work for my nickels, and some $1 chips that I actually like (in photos) a little better than the Milano $1. Blue > White. Together these would be about 1/3rd the cost of Milanos. For $60 to my door I could have a significant portion of my cash set and then fill in the rest over time with either more DaVincis or some Milanos.
- All chips not created equally. As I was told in another thread, I may find differences in thickness between chips in a mixed set that may be undesirable, or even un-playable. But it’s been also pointed out that sometimes this difference can even be found within a set from the same manufacturer! So I could be rolling the dice either way.
- Finding DaVinci chips – Unfortunately, filling out a set with DaVincis may not be too easy. This appears to be a discontinued chip. ChipsandGames.com has a few for sale, but not many denominations that I want. And no sample sets. If I were to buy a couple of stacks for samples, then add in shipping… Well, I’d might as well just spend the $60 and get 350 chips. AND… now I’m sort of comitted to finding more or having a mixed set. Or replacing them all down the road.
Questions:
- Once I have some DaVincis in hand, will I like them as well as the Milanos? No, I don’t expect you guys to answer that. But does anybody have both and can tell me how similar they are in look, feel and size? How do the heights of an equal stack of each compare?
- Am I likely to find the missing DaVinci denominations I need to fill out my cash set? At a minimum I’d like 150 quarters and 100 $5. 200 5s would be better. Above $5 I’m considering a few $20 plaques or some over-size 43mm $25s, maybe Royals. I don’t need $100s, but I’d take a few if they were available.
- Is there another chip in the under 25 cents a chip price that I should be considering? Needs to meet my criteria above of (a) looking and feeling similar to a real clay chip, (b) in the 8-10 oz “casino weight” range, and (c) nice colors and edge spots. Used in great condition is fine.
- Any PCF members here that have any of these or similar CCs that need to find a new home? Hit me up if you do, or tag em if you know em.
I’m sorry. I know this is a ridiculously long post. God bless you if you’ve made it this far. I know I’m being super picky. And SUPER CHEAP! If I had a thousand bucks to drop, it would probably be easy. Or maybe it would be harder? Anyway, thanks for bearing with me and I truly will appreciate any input.
UPDATE: OK, you guys have been MORE THAN AWESOME!!! 60 replies in 12 hours. Lots of great ideas and a few more things to think about and talk about. I think my biggest conflict now is the DaVincis. Some of you say better than Milanos and others say they're going to crumble into dust. At the clearance prices I'm looking at, I think I'm willing to take the chance. I can't believe the whole set will become unusable within a few years, so if it's just a few chips at a time, then all the more reason to buy lots of extras.
