Value of Live Casino Chips Collection (1 Viewer)

[DurangoKWest]

I'm curious what other people's thoughts are. I'm collecting live casino chips on my visits and building quite a collection of mostly $2.5 pink chips with some $5's and $1's etc depending on the casino. 1 chip from each casino. This is more for the memories but do you think these collections hold value? Would my children or grandchildren have a valuable asset 50 years from now? Currently 70 chips with $139 in live value and only getting bigger.

 

[LeLe]

Would my children or grandchildren have a valuable asset 50 years from now

 

[doublebooyah85]

No. In 50 years your money w investments in the stock market would be significantly more valuable.

 

[joeyshin]

i just sold a mostly live Foxwoods set in pretty good condition for just over face value. I've owned the set twice and the price has remained steady...

it all depends on the casino and condition of the chips.

 

[allforcharity]

If you're amassing today's live chips with the hope that it's an appreciating asset, you are in it for the wrong reason. I would not ever classify these little disks as investment-grade items.

 

[Josh Kifer]

Unless you got some old flyers in the pile, odds are face value is your best bet. A few might go up if they retire sets, but your not talking huge bucks. Maybe a few dollars past face.

 

[joeyshin]

Unless you got some old flyers in the pile, odds are face value is your best bet. A few might go up if they retire sets, but your not talking huge bucks. Maybe a few dollars past face.

and thats only if the chips are good condition and desirable. Most likely, if you keep a live set and that casino closes, then your chips will not even be worth their face value

 

[Josh Kifer]

and thats only if the chips are good condition and desirable. Most likely, if you keep a live set and that casino closes, then your chips will not even be worth their face value

Yup. Best case scenario.

 

[Moxie Mike]

Would my children or grandchildren have a valuable asset 50 years from now?

As far as investments, go, collectibles aren't the worst thing in the world but you also have to consider the rate of inflation. $1 in 1974 was worth about $6 in today's money according to this.

So let's just say you had a mint rack of $1 chips from The Dunes (or another iconic property) from back in 1974. What would that rack sell at auction for today? Would it sell for more than $600? Most certainly. So as a hedge against inflation, it's probably not the worst storer of value you can think of.

From ChatGPT:

If you invest $100 today in the S&P 500 with an average nominal annual return of 10%, it would grow to be worth approximately $11,739.09 in 50 years.

So would that $100 rack of casino singles fetch $11.7k at auction today? Maybe but probably not - that seems like a lot. $11.7k in 2074 is the equivalent to $3,415.40 in today's money (again according to ChatGPT).

So would that rack from 1974 fetch $3400? Seems like a bit of a stretch but I don't know for sure. Perhaps some of the more experienced chippers like @David Spragg or @David O or @Tommy might be able to chime in. It's an interesting thought experiment if nothing else.

As buy-and-hold an investment, it's probably not the worst idea in the world and one would think it'd be easy to pass from one generation to the next without much hassle. But I'm sure there are more financially fruitful investments one can make if leaving a legacy is a priority.

 

[David O]

You can probably make some money in the end with chips and collectibles as an investment. I have several different types of collections and finding a true worth is hard to do. They are only worth what someone will pay for them. The problem with chips is that you probably should not put them in play if they are for investment purposes. All the chips in my collection go into play so for me they are definitely not an investment.

I do know if I sold off my collection I would most definitely make a profit but that is not what I purchased them for. I know I have some spotted birds that I paid face value for and others that I paid more for. I thought I was crazy at the time I purchased them but did it anyway for my collection and bird sanctuary. I have racks of chips from the 1970s and I recently saw them go up for sale for way more than I paid for mine. The rack of Spotted birds are from 2010 and those are going for more than $1,000 a rack.

I guess some racks are like stocks, some will pull you a good ROI while others will leave you ready to sell off. I could go on but if you have money to invest do it with real estate. That is where the best ROIs come from and one of the leading causes of becoming a millionaire. Chips on the other hand, not so much. Bottom line is to collect chips and enjoy them!

By the way, I am really not a Chipes Exbert!

 

[greenchip]

Buy stocks. 50 years, this hobby might be like stamp collecting