Lot 237
Rare, Pre-Castro Cuba, Tropicana Hotel Havana, 158 Piece Set of Chips with 15 Chips from Casino El Rio. From a Cuba long since passed a fine collection of early 1950s era gaming chips predominantly from the legendary Tropicana Hotel in Havana with 15 from El Rio. Included in this collection are
No denomination 7 Blue/Fountain chips
No denomination 17 Yellow/Fountain chips
No denomination 11 Beige chip with rope/garland trim
No denomination 17 Red chip with rope/garland trim
No denomination 17 Green Blue chip with rope/garland trim
1$ chip 27 Orange/Fountain chips
$1.25 chip 17 Light pink/plastic chips
$1.50 chip 25 Beige/plastic chips
$5 chip 15 Rust El Rio chips
$25 chip 9 Light green/ Fountain chips
$100 chip 11 Beige 7 and 4 black chips
173 piece chip set in very good to excellent condition. Chips certainly do exhibit wear/play, with only a very few having contusions to edges. But the centers of the chips are in overall excellent condition, whether paper or printed.
A solid set for any level of collector with pieces increasingly difficult to find. The $25 and $100 chips are particularly valuable. The most powerful crime boss in Batista-era Cuba was Sam Trafficante. His association with the Tropicana makes for very interesting reading as does the cultural barriers toppled by the club's long list of top entertainers. Estimated Value $800 - 1,200
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| Realized $800 |
