I work selling poker chips on a retail kiosk so i have learn a fair bit about them.

The cheaper clay composite chips (particularly the famour dice style chips) that sell everywhere very cheaply for a set contain metal to give it the 11.5/13.5g weight. They have a plasticy metalic clink sound which some people do not like. However they are great value and are ideal for most homegames.

A lot of the chips we sell claim to be "clay". This is kind of true but the chips still contain a piece of metal to give the exact weight but the material srrounding the metal is clay rather than an abs plastic/clay composite material. These chips produce a much deeper and more satisfying clay sound when you stack them. These chips are still affordable and good for homegames.

Actual clay chips are usually 10g and the same quality as casino chips. These chips are made in the same way as casino chips rather than in Chinese factories like the cheaer chips. These retail for $1 - $2 per chip so will be completely out of most poeples price range.

I agree that non-numbered chips are more flexible and better in general. However i got a set of nevada jacks (www.nevadajacks.com) from doing an online promotion. These are made by a compnay who also makes the casino quality chips. They are ceramic 10g chips and they are the highest quality chips I have used outside of a casino. I was able to request my denominations so i got $5, $25, $100 and a few $500 wich is fine for my single table tournament homegames. If I had not got these doing a promotion I would not spend $200 (US) on them though.