Classic Mode

C.O.C.A. Times

Issue: 2012-March - Vol 11 Num 1

Dr. Herb is looking
for slot n1achines
by Rachel Azark
By the numbers
the year Charles Fey,
a pioneer slot machine
manufacturer, completed
the Liberty Bell, the first
slot machine.
Liberty Bell machines
are still in existence.
years or older is how old a
slot machine has to be to
be legal in Illinois
,Qns
slot machines in Nevada in
1999; this is one for
every 1 0 residents
the weight in pounds of
Dr. Weinfield's favorit e
slot machine, The Q.T.
A
s a boy, Herb \, einfield begged his mother for pennies and nickels so he could go
to town and play the slot machines. Slot machines at the time were in general
stores, restaurants and bars. It was 40 years ago, though. that Dr. Weinfield , a L948
graduate f the lo}•ola Universit School of Dentistry, had his first opponunity to
actually own one.
The oppommit arrived one day, hen Dr. Weinfield had an air conditioner repamnan over
to do some work on his home. The repainnan took one look at the finished basement and said ,
"What thi basement needs is a slot machine.• Dr. Weinfield asked where he could find one,
and the repairman sold Dr. Weinfield his own .
Today, Dr. einfield is a proud owner of 22 different slot machines. He finds his machines
through collectors groups. dealers, collectors shows, and by word or mouth. While Dr. Wein-
field finds joy in admiring his collection and playing them , he said , "to me, the most Cun is
chasing chem down."
After work one Saturday, he drove 300 miles with his wife to northern Wisconsin 10 pur-
chase a slot machine. The next day, having purchased the machine , he drove home ,vi1h a
smile fro m ear to ear.
ou go nutty, colleclOrs are nutty. But it' fun! " said Dr. Weinfield.
When he had his practice, Dr. \i einfield loved to share his passion \vith his patients. He
had four, fully restored, original machines displayed in his office that he would let patients and
their children play \vith. Dr. Weinfield felt that by having pan of his collection there , wit
humanized the dental office" be ause it showed that the demist wa interested in _omething
more than just dentistry.
Each machine had a bowl of coins next co n so people could play the slot. And next to each
machine was also a sign that read, "Dr. Herb is always looking for slot machines. Do you kno
wher he can find one?"
29
by Bill Howard
The theme of my book, Every Picture Tells a Story,
is that each item in my collection has its' own story or
memory from the past. A classic example of this theme
is the Calvert Indian Shooter.
This trade stimulator was manufactured in 1929 by
Calvert Mfg., and the example pictured above and on
page 135 of my book combines every possible feature
one could hope to find in a trade stimulator: rarity (this
is the only all original and complete example I know of
as of the date of this writing), condition (it is flawless),
Americana (wonderful graphics of Indians in the Old
West), uniqueness of play (shooting pennies vertically
to knock off the heads of the Indians), aesthetics' ( the
sheer beauty of the machine), its ' marvelous construc-
tion (all metal and very well built), and, most impor-
tantly, the fun it is to play.
I acquired this machine from dealer Paul Hindin. I
cannot quite remember how I learned that it was for
sale or what convinced me to drive all the way to Paul 's
house in my early collecting days to look at it. What 1
30
do remember, just as if it were yesterday, was the feel-
ing I had as I saw it for the first time sitting on his table.
After putting a penny in and playing it, I knew it was
leaving Wisconsin with me. It was a feeling I will never
forget.
I have often told people that there is another thing
1 saw that day that I will never forget that convinced
me Paul was someone special when it came to coin-
ops. As l entered his home, 1 saw that he had turned
both couches in his living room on end so that he would
have more room in which to stuff machines. Now that
is the kind of sickness and compulsive behavior that
will get you far in the hobby, my sympathy to his lovely
wife Bonita, not withstanding.
The machine was sold for $37.50 according to the
October 1929, ad in Automatic Age on page 44. Its' rar-
ity and uniqueness in design and play are discussed by
Dick Beuschel in Vintage Trade Stimulators & Counter
Games on page 170, where he notes that the penny is
shot vertically into the air. Also, note that the example

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