Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's personal-label cigars have become coveted currency at California's Capitol.

Political insiders who have received a stogie straight from Schwarzenegger or lifted one from his open humidor save the cigars as keepsakes or pass them on to friends.

"It's not a status thing," Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian said last week. "It's more like you know when someone's been to the governor's office when they have a cigar in their hand."

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Aghazarian, who doesn't smoke, said the cigars have helped him break the ice with constituents.

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