How can you tell the difference between plastic and clay poker chips?

Filed under :Poker Questions
cdb asked:


I just acquired a bunch of very old poker chips and I think they are clay but I don’t know for sure. I’m pretty sure they are not plastic, When I shave the edge of a chip it comes off as a powder. The color seems to go all the way through. Any sure way to tell?
Some of these chips are chipped, again, not like plastic. They have a rather dull sound when fipped on a hard surface. I bought a set of 80 at a garage sale, 40 white, 20 blue, and 20 red. They were in a zip lock baggie in a box of junk. Cost $1. There is a fancy design on both sides.
They can be viewed here:

http://misc.cdbpdx.com/PokerChips/

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