As the third law of motion says, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The pandemic forced everyone to lock themselves up in their homes. After normalcy returned, people hit the public place with more rigour and enthusiasm. They were longing for socialising and human interaction. But they enjoyed their stay at home through virtual gambling on online casinos in california.

As traditional brick and mortar resorts, clubs and casinos rejuvenated after the enormous footfall they received after the pandemic subsided, there was an increase in the demand for allied services and goods. One of them is Casino Chips.

What are Casino Chips?

Casino chips are also known as casino tokens, checks, or cheques. It is the currency of casinos. As a traditional currency, these are made from different materials like metal, plastic, or clay. The colour code and design of the chips describe the denomination or value of the chip. Metals coins are used in slot machines, and tokens of other materials as well as metals are used in table games. They are often used in various board games that are played at home. 

Plaques

Some casino tokens are moulded in a rectangular form. These plaques are larger than chips and have a relatively high value than chips. They contain serial numbers for identification. They are used in games where stakes are high. 

History of using casino chips instead of regular currency

Ombre is a Spanish card game. Its variant is Quadrille that was widely played in the 18^th century. Players used counters to play these games instead of money for settling scores. Quadrille had a set of denominations of different values. The number of Jetons, fiches, and mils each player had at the end determined the outcome of the game. The payment in money was settled against such numbers. 

The idea of using a tangible thing in poker games started in the 19^th century. By that time, players had started using objects that were small in size but had some monetary value. For example, players used golden ornaments, nuggets, gold dust, coins. Slowly, chips made of bone, paper, clay, ivory, wood, and shellac came into fashion. 

Eventually, some companies started manufacturing poker chips in 1880. Till the late 1930s, poker chips made from clay had entered the mainstream. Players and casinos could order their custom-made chips. Manufacturers had to offer more than 1000 designs that were made from permutations and combinations of white, red, blue, and yellow. Though, you could make your chips as you desired. 

How are they made?

Clay chips

Today casinos use chips primarily made of clay. It is believed that chips made from 100% clay stopped circulating in the 1950s. Modern chips are made of more durable material. Clay is mixed with chalk, sand and clay. 

You would be astonished to know that the process of manufacturing these chips is patented and a heavily guarded trade secret. It is quite expensive and time-consuming. You might have observed that chips have coloured spots at the edges. These are not painted. Instead, the edge of the chips is cut out, and a piece of different colours is embossed in the empty space. There are two ways to do this; repeat this process individually with every chip or emboss a strip of a different colour to the cylindrical clay material before cutting the chips from it. To give them a firm shape, they are compressed after an inlay is put to them. 

What is an Inlay?

Additional graphics are added to chips in the form of inlay. Inlays are small details printed on paper and coated with a plastic sheet. They are placed on the chips right before the compression. When a chip is moulded, an inlay is permanently embossed in the chip, and no one can remove it before destroying the chip. So, the inlay is an important security feature. 

Ceramic chip

Ceramic chips are actually not made of ceramic. They are manufactured by a special formula made of plastic and clay that gives them a glossy finish. They feel like porcelain when touched. They are less expensive. 

You may find chips ranging anywhere from 8 grams to 10 grams depending upon the country and region. Manufacturing casino chips is a profitable business. Casinos do not use them for a long time and need to change them from time to time for security purposes. They are widely used in homes also. Therefore, the demand for these chips never goes down.