Poker CHips

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Yeah, wear is the only major disadvantage of Chipcos. You can see it at casinos with their constant use, but most people who have home chips don't complain about it. You must really be using them a lot. Most of the Chipcos have been made for a few years with a white ring as part of the design, that helps to postpone the worst wear for a while.

The non-Chipco brand chips (Nevada Jacks Skulls, Mardi Gras, Desert Sands, etc.) have a much more textured surface and don't seem to have the same problem (though they don't get casino-type usage). You might get samples of these to see if you like this feel.

If you think they will get heavy usage, you might not want ceramics. Unless of course you and your buddies will see well-worn chips as the sign of a good poker game and a good poker player!!

If you like ceramics but want more durability, the Bud Jones-type composite plastic/nylon chips (the good ones) are damn near bomb-proof. But as you said, the consumer chips you can get (Matsuis like Murphy's, Rounders, KC Chips) are more hard/slick and don't stick together as well. But the real Bud Jones chips don't have this problem -- their material is slightly rubbery enough that they stick & stack very well.

Here's an auction for one of the real BJ coin sets that comes up now and then, though rarely: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...24904&rd=1

And here's an old auction for some real BJ decal (non-coin) chips: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWA:IT
These are the exact type of chips used at last year's WSOP.