Date from 1720-1840
Mother-of-Pearl counters, hand-made by the Chinese between 1720 and 1840 are by far the most exquisite example of gambling items made by man.
Many, if not most, counters were made in sets and commissioned by individuals (note the script “L” on the counter in the photo).
According to Dale Seymour, in his book Antique Gambling Chips, “counters can be dated to within fifteen years by style and within two years from records.”
It is estimated that somewhere between 2000 to 2500 monogrammed counters sets were made.
Counters in the U.S. were used in card games and referred to as “Chips”.
M.O.P. comes from the inner shell of the pearl oyster and is of the same material as a pearl. The Chinese would remove the outer portion of the shell by grinding and then hand carve the inner shell and then polish the final product. This was a very time-intensive activity resulting in many man hours to complete a single set of counters.
Check out the nice selection of Chinese M.O.P. counters for sale at Old West Antiques.
Tags: M.O.P., Mother-of-Pearl
Having knowledge of gambling in the Old West (www.FrontierGamblers.Com) and having watched the Pawn Stars episode detailing a “Gamblers Box”. I would like to point out that the expert Rick called in stated, “90 to 95% of all gamblers boxes were accumulated”, meaning someone put them together after the fact. I would suggest the number is more like 100%. In all my years dealing in antique gambling equipment (www.oldwestantiques.Biz) I’ve never found a single manufacturers catalog offering for sale a gamblers box. No doubt itinerant gamblers would need something to carry a gun(s), maybe a knife, cards, clothes, personal care items and the like while traveling and that would be a carpet bag or suitcase.
Tags: frontier gamblers, Gamblers Box, Pawn Stars
Having knowledge of gambling in the Old West (www.FrontierGamblers.Com) and having watched the Pawn Stars episode detailing a “Gamblers Box”. I would like to point out that the expert Rick called in stated, “90 to 95% of all gamblers boxes were accumulated”, meaning someone put them together after the fact. I would suggest the number is more like 100%. In all my years dealing in antique gambling equipment (www.oldwestantiques.Biz) I’ve never found a single manufacturers catalog offering for sale a gamblers box. No doubt itinerant gamblers would need something to carry a gun(s), maybe a knife, cards, clothes, personal care items and the like while traveling and that would be a carpet bag or suitcase.
