C.O.C.A. Times

the play-field where it drops down through a pin field.
The player manipul ates the catcher, the clown and if
the ball is caught, it drops into the interior mechanism
where it releases the payout. If the ball is missed, it
falls to the bottom slant rail and rolls into the out-hole
on the left side of the play-fi eld and back into the ma-
chine. This specific game was recently offered for sale
on Ebay. It was adverti sed as of German origin and
currently inoperative. The seller thought the game was
complete but had no speciali zed knowledge of this type
of machine. I, on the other hand, do have some knowl-
edge of these machines. I already own three. Why
would I want another? First Silly-Billy, see the above
paragraph. Second, my other Bajazzos have a different
mechanism with the payout coming from a coin-tube
inside the game. This machine has the attractive exter-
nal coin slide with the pay-out wheel at the end . When
you catch the ball, the wheel releases from two to four
of the coins trapped in the coin slide that then automati-
cally spill out into the payout cup at the bottom of the
door. The remaining coins in the track roll downward
in an enchanting parade of future promised wealth . I
find these games extremely attractive and compelling.
Back to my analogy of the murder mystery, we now
switch roles from the serial killer to that of the detective.
Collectors of European coin-operated games in general
and British games in specific face a unique problem
when compared to American collectors. Most Europe-
an games are not marked with any manufacturing iden-
tification. Adding to the confusion is the fact that some
games made in one country were produced specifically
for export to other countries. Part of the real challenge
for collectors of these games is detennining where the
game was produced, when and by whom.
Permit me to mention an aside here. For beginning
collectors of US slot machines, you have a different
challenge: determining original versus reproduction.
Numerous of the more popular American slot machines
from the golden era have been reproduced. In addition,
original games have been modified with parts from oth-
er slots of the era or with new parts. Sellers, some igno-
rant and some unscrupulous are offering these games as
untouched originals. The value between a true original
and a modified or repro game can be significant. Until
you gain the knowledge to be able to know the differ-
ence, your best insurance against being the victim of a
costly mistake is to deal with reputable dealers of slot
machines. You can find these honest men and women
here among your fellow COCA members. I will not
mention specific names for fear of offending others but
you can find them among our ranks. Patronize them
and learn the hobby from the best.
Back to Bajazzo. Like slot machines and allwin
games, many countries produced clown catchers. From
my research, it appears that the majority of these were
manufactured in Germany. Great Britain, France and
the United States also produced these games but in less-
er numbers. Here in the States, both Arcade Supply and
Caill e Brothers manufactured Bajazzos for a short pe-
riod. "Manufactured" may be the wrong term. Look-
ing at the clown games by both manufacturers, their
games could eas il y have been imported from Europe
and rebadged under the American names. Both compa-
nies introduced their clowns before the Great Depres-
sion and neither model survived the economic collapse
that shortly followed their introduction.
French clown games tend to have finer filigree work
on the play-field. The one British company known to
have produced the game, Pessers, Moody, Wraith &
Gurr had the decency to stamp their initials on the top
of the wood case just below the over-hang of the top
board. If you have a game with "PMWG" stamped into
the wood, your game is British. Probably. There is
speculation that even these games were made in Ger-
many and exported to Britain where the final act was
the stamping. Are you beginning to get a feel for the
challenges of European game identification?
The seller of my game posted many pictures of the
machine in his listing, both interior and exterior shots.
There was also ad language about "normal wear and
tear, hinge reinforcement" and other verbiage that told
the prospective purchaser it was a "buyer beware" trans-
action. Judging from the photos and my correspon-
dence with the seller, I knew this Bajazzo was meant
for me. In other words, I had the fever. My coffee was
not as hot; my toast was stale. I had to act. And act I
did. At the end of the auction I was the proud winner
of this Bajazzo. I immediately paid and now had only
to await delivery.
Prior to receiving my latest prize, I awoke one night
at 2 AM and could not get back to sleep. This happens
from time to time and when it does, my mind goes into
a free-wheeling mode during which I am just along for
the ride. This particular evening, my brain decided to
review my Bajazzo purchase. Stripped now of the fever
that , had accompanied the purchase, I began to see the
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