Coin Slot Magazine - #065 - 1980 - July [International Arcade Museum]
Letters to the Editor continued
less-than perfect condition. In our view, some years from now
"Rough is Beautiful" will bepassword. Ifyou keep it like it isyou
can always restore it, but once you do you can't go back.
Editor
Dear Editor:
me. Again, your publication is great, and I am happy to see more
information coming out on antique slots. Hopefully, Montana
will soon follow the trend of the other states and revise or reverse
old laws prohibiting the collection of these old machines.
I have referred to you by a dealer in Ohio whom I have dealt
with over the years, and from whom I have bought books. I am
in need of knowing the approximate value of the slot machine
Sincerely,
Fred E. Sagebaum
shown in the enclosed picture. It is a Pace nickel machine, and
has no model shown on it. As to.Condition, it works well in all
Dear Fred:
ways and counts out nickels accurately. There seems to be a
small door missing at the (X) in the photo. In addition to this,
the door or cover at the back of the machine is not original,
Welcome to the club, and glad you enjoyed "An Illustrated
Price Guide to the 100 Most Collectibel Slot Machines".
Actually, you got Volume 1, and probably by a quirk offate.
Volume 2 tells the whole story about the Jennings Silver Chief;
its history, dates and values.
Your hunch is right; the serial ofyour 5( Jennings Silver Chief
is 134,922, indicating 1938 production. A serial in the 184,000
range came after World War II and would have been for the
Club Chief or similar machine. The Silver Chief was only
produced before the war. COIN SLOT Guide No. 2 covers it.
Asfor your Mills "mystery" machine; that's exactly what it is.
Originally, it started life as a Mills Mystery "Blue Front" as
indicated by its 356,882 serial. So it was a pre-war machine as
detailed in COIN SLOT Guide No. 15. Thefunny part is what it
ended up. It's obviously a post-war revamp with a new front.
The fact that it is aluminum means it was 1946 or afterward.
Your very good description of the same front that seems to
doublefor a Mills Chrome or a Black Cherry clearly identifies it
as a Buckley Jackpot Bellefront of 1946 or 1947. Buckley made
a basic front for both machines and revamped pre-war Mills
escalator Bells by the droves. In fact, a Buckley ad in THE
BILLBOARD on May 11, 1946 clearly describes the front:
"Chrome cabinet assemblies cutom built. Your choice, Cherry
or Diamond ornaments." Buckely called this machine the
Jackpot Belle, and this whole somewhat mysterious line will be
detailed and well illustrated in COIN SLOT Guide No. 25 which
is in the works.
As for restoring your 25c Black Cherry, that's a matter of
choice. But we will say this. There has been quite a groundswell
of keeping machines the way they were across the country, if
only for the fact that in five or six years—at the rate the
restorations are being made—the only way to tell a real machine
from a restoration or partially recast machine will be its original
although it is a well made replacement.
If you would be so kind, could you tell what a fair selling price
to a collector currently is. Your help is very much appreciated. It
shows at the far top "Pat Jan 17, 22". Thank you very kindly.
Yours truly,
Mr. Bruns
Dear Mr. Bruns:
Glad you wrote to us, and it was a good idea to have a
collector ask you to confirm value for yourself through the
COIN SLOT. The machine you asked about is a Jennings
Operators Bell of around 1926 with a revamped Pace Jak-Pot
front. It is described in detail in "An Illustrated Price Guide to
the 100 Most Collectible Slot Machines, Volume 2" available
from COIN SLOT Books.
The machine history and values are clearly indicated. When
dealing with a collector most people are willing to accept the
"Fair" to "Good" price as their selling price if the machine is in
good condition and operating. Otherwise, ifparts are missing,
the machine is broken or doesn't work, something in the
"Incomplete" to "Rough" pricing is fair.
In all fairness, a collector has additional expenses in buying
and getting a machine in shape and should hopefully be able to
buy at advantage, if only because the offer was made at all.
Therefore, based on the current values, we'd say that a selling
price of between $650 to $850 to the collector would befair and
equitable to all, so let your own feelings be your guide. Glad we
could help. And thanks for the stamps for the answer.
Editor
PRINTER'S ERROR
In the June issue the two following photographs were
used on page 11 in conjunction with the story about
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This machine
http was found in a barn late last year. Russ Newman
discovered the machine in good condition. It has been replated,
but the reel strips and pay card are original. Notice the small
claw feet which are attached from inside the base.
© 10
The —
International
Arcade
Museum
THE COIN
SLOT
Chicago's Antique Coin-Op Expo. The captions were
reversed and should have read as follows:
This Mills Liberty Bell was displaced. The reel strips have
somewhat different symbols than the machine, left. The legs
are cast as part of the machine rather than separately attached.
JULY, 1980
http://www.arcade-museum.com/