Gaming Counters

“The Chinese manufacture beads of various kinds, fish-counters, &c. from the mother of pearl shells in a far superior manner to what they can do in Europe… The fish counters are cut of various shapes, round, oval, and oblong, and are put up in sets, each containing 140 pieces.”[i]

Gaming counters were used just as poker chips are used today; to represent sums of money for gambling.  All sorts of counters were, but the most expensive and exclusive would have been made in China of mother-of-pearl and decorated with their owner’s coat of arms or initials.  Popular from about 1720 into the mid-nineteenth century, personalized counters were made for British, Dutch, French, and American consumers.