>                __________________
>               |                  |
>  ? +----------+ 1              8 +--- N.C.
>    |          |                  |
>    |  N.C. ---+ 2              7 +--- N.C.
>    |          |                  |
>  ? +----------+ 3              6 +------ ?
>    |          |                  |
>  ? +----------+ 4              5 +------ ?
>               |                  |
>               --------------------

Thank you all for your input.  I really appreciate it.

>Are you sure that the chip is microcontroller ? Maybe it is only some
>EEPROM memory.


Assuming it is some EEPROM memory, can someone suggest to me a source of
information on EEPROMs? (books, web sites, etc) I'd like to study more about
them before I ask anymore "obvious/dumb" questions.

>What is the "real" function of the chip, except counting down ?

It is part of a "key" that you insert into a machine.  The chip is soldered
onto a small rectangular PCB, where the 5 pins are connected to metal
contacts on the other side of the PCB.  The machine reads the "stored"
number of the chip, and decrements it.

Thank you again.
--
Kevin