JBpart3

by John Benedict

Benedict, September, 1999

This type of piece is commonly known as "French-style" throughout the world because it was a French company that first designed and manufactured them.

The "Lunette" is the round transparent portion of the piece. Lunettes are usually found in single, double, triple and overlapping configurations.

The actual body of this type chip and plaque consists of up to 14-layers of plastic material, two decorative layers and a layer of protective film. The pieces are made to last up to 30-years (some pre-1960 material is still in play), and are used in over 450 casinos in more than sixty countries.

The actual process in adding lunettes to the French-style pieces began in 1930, and those pieces without lunettes are known as "standard."

The smallest plaque in this style are approximately 50mm x 30mm, and the largest are 150mm x 110mm (4" x 6").

Chips (jetons) are as small as 25mm and as large as 66mm (2-1/2").

In future portions of this French-style series, I'll illustrate pieces having "Tulle" (a mesh design in the laminate, and "Lamé" (a metallic strip placed under the protective film) along with combinations of all of the above.

The 250.000 Belgian Franc plaque seen above is the largest of the series, circa: 1980s, and the yellow Casino de Vichy piece is circa: 1950s. This piece has been revalued to conform with the French Monetary Reform Act of 1961, where every old 100 francs then became one New franc (N.F.).

JB