made me promise not to tell it immediately, but to let some time pass before I share it. I told him about
COCA's fantastic find column and said I would write it up in a year and he asked me to send him a copy.
The story starts on a Saturday in early September 2003. This guy and his girlfriend were visiting garage
sales looking for a coffee table. After most of the day, they decided to stop at one last sale. While they did
the once over, the guy noticed a slot machine half covered in the corner of the garage and not part of the
sale. The guy had no prior knowledge of slot machines. He asked the garage sale hostess whether she'd sell
the machine. He thought it would look pretty cool in his office at home. The lady asked how much he'd
give for it. She was cleaning the garage and could use the space. The guy pulled out a single crisp $5 bill
and stretched it between the thumb and forefinger of both hands said "how about five bucks"? She thought
for a minute and said if he could lift it, he could have it for the $5. Needless to say he handed her the money.
The lady told him what she knew about the machine. It came out of a country club in Kansas City area.
(Yes, I knew which one, and I'll pass that on with the machine if I ever part with it). At some point her
father ended up with the machine when the club got rid if it. She remembered it being at her house and
playing it since she was a little girl back in the 60's.
As soon as the guy got home he started some internet research on the machine. I know you all appreci-
ate the avenues opened up by the internet. From a zero knowledge base this guy got to about 75 % of the
knowledge level of the average collector in the matter of a couple of hours. He had determined that he had
something pretty special. I don't think he could really appreciate how special - I'm guessing less than 5%
of the surviving machines are consoles and of the surviving consoles around 1 % would be golf ball
machines, so to stumble onto something that unusual and uncommon and to pick it up for $5 is like win-
ning the lottery or like lightning striking twice. You can argue the percentages all you want - it doesn' t
change my point. Anyway, this guy got home in mid afternoon and after a couple of hours of research had
it listed on e-bay the same day - the day I bought it. He turned $5 into $7500 in just a few hours - I'd like
to hear somebody top that one! Sure, it turned out well for me too. But who wouldn't trade places with a
guy that finds something like that, something that wasn't for sale, for a price that can't be beat. I would be
surprised if this "Fantastic Find" doesn't go down in history as the lowest price ever paid for a Mills golf
ball vender.
Footnote: That was a great TALE OF THE HUNT, but listen to this ... Another Mills Golf Ball Vendor
was found in Northern Florida in January of this year. It was sold at a Friday night auction in North
Carolina. It brought considerably more than the "Buy It Now" price for Tim's golf ball vender. The photos
in this article are of the North Carolina Mills Golf Ball Vender. Remember to PRAY FOR MORE STUFF
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