Coin Slot Magazine - #039 - 1978 - April[International Arcade Museum]
Starting a Slot Machine
Collection: A Round About Way
by
Robert L. Frankenberger, Ph.D.
Western Illinois University
Macomb, Illinois 61455
For reasons unknown to me, slot machine collectors are thought
to be somewhat peculiar.
Most civilians (non collectors) are not
overly impressed with my collection of old coin operated machines
or, they are impressed for the wrong reasons. When I point out the
fifty cent Roll A Top or penny Roman Head with Gold Award and
Side vendor or a goose neck or similiar beautiful three reeler, the
most frequent response is, "They are awfully noisy". The next most
frequent comments are, "Do you make a lot of money with them"
or "Why can't I play that little yellow dice machine; I know I can
beat it."
Hardly music to a collector's ear.
When I proudly present
my cast iron Caille Baseball one reeler with original tokens, the com
ments thus far have been, "Hmmmm, doesn't pay off money does
it?"
Needless to say, I've stopped taking my tour to the garage work
shop to see the rest of the collection and those in restoration proc
esses.
The comments out there have been mainly, "They sure are
dirty looking things." or "How can you find anything in all this
smelly junk?" All this "smelly junk" happens to be a Jennings Today
Mint vendor and the final restoration stages of a Caille Doughboy.
Showing my pocket watch collection of twenty years is a different
story.
It's an ego trip. The questions and comments are all very
flattering. Although most people talk about the obvious dollar value,
a few people do mention the apparent beauty, function and antiquity
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of the watches. Many of the pieces are of 14 karat and Sterling, some
with multi colored gold overlay cases and dials, and a few set with
man sitting at the bench, with a loupe' in his eye, cleaning a tiny ex
quisitely expensive timepiece is much different than that of a slot
collector with the big smelly soaking tank, the litter of reel strips,
wheels, cases, and mechanisms cluttering up the place.
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