Coin Slot Magazine - #078 - 1981 - August [International Arcade Museum]
Letters to the Editor continued
would show roughness from bits of sand in the mold. Some
reproductions were made from a high magnesium aluminum
alloy that shrunk "white" looking color of the aluminum.
I believe that today the home market — the guy who wants
We'll also run your letter in THE COIN SLOT to see ifany
readers can come up with the mechanism you need.
Nice drawing, incidentally.
You certainly describe your
one slot for his rec room is a far bigger market than the collectors.
Many dealers have practically abandoned the collector market,
as they can get better prices in the home market. The home
machine well.
market buys more on appearance than anything else — the
Here is Mr. Byron A. Barnes* address ifany readers can help:
Mr. Byron A. Barnes
To him lots of chrome plating and well done automotive finish
10232 Richview Drive
Looks definitely count high when selling to the home market
customer must be able to justify the price he paid to his friends.
St. Louis, MO 63127
paint job is more important than the desirability of the machine.
I can justify selling a repro to the home market if it is sold as a
repro. A collector friend of mine recently built up a repro WAR
Sincerely,
EAGLE — just to see if he could do it — machine came out nice
Editor
as he put many many hours into the fitting and finishing. He sold
it to a friend of his as a repro — the guy is tickled to death with it,
and wants another one in a different denomination. Of course the
Dear Editor:
I think you are going to get a real discussion and debate going
with your stand on reproduction. I really hope you get dozens of
problem could lie with the integrity of sellers — maybe my
friend sold it as a repro — the guy he sold it to will probably re
letters — if you do not — well — then just figure that most
sell it some day. Will he try to pawn it off as original? This is a
collectors and dealers do not know how to write. This is a point
good question — who knows the true answer?
that I have made for years — that is no one knows how to write!
But, on the other hand, we might as well realize that there are
I am going to take a stand — probably controversial — maybe
more odd mechanisms out there than there are cabinets. Old
not my real thoughts — but printable if you wish. So here
operators saved mechs for spare parts, discarding the cabinets
goes —
— who would want that old fashioned ROMAN HEAD cabinet
"I cannot get as excited about reproductions as some people
when they could put a new looking HIGH TOP on location?
do. After all, reproductions were not invented by some slot
Many dealers today have many extra mechs, many have enough
dealer in the past three years — reproductions were first made
spare parts to build more mechs. What are they going to do with
over 35 years ago — Dan Post's book — Collectors Treasury of
all these mechs? Today it is very tough to find original castings,
Antique Slot Machines shows ads for a company that made a
and when you do, the prices asked border on the exhorbitant. I
complete BLACK CHERRY, or DIAMOND FRONT cabinet
know — I have built up over a dozen Jennings machines, in the
— the operator could take his old WAR EAGLE — mechanism,
past three years. I had the mechs, and had to locate cabinets. It is
and up-date it to a brand new BLACK CHERRY — for much
getting tougher to find front castings today.
less than Mills would sell him a new BLACK CHERRY. There
were also many dealers in slots that made copies of the Mills
cabinet and castings that are slightly different from the original —
I have tried to persuade several suppliers to reproduce a
HIGH TOP, so operators could up-date their equipment. I am
so that anyone would know it is repro. However, I have been told
sure there were dozens of purveyors of these reproduction post
that this would be a violation of Federal Law, as you could not
war cabinets. I recently restored a DIAMOND FRONT that
produce a new slot machine today without getting into a heap of
was undoubtedly made by one of these reproduction guys. Boy,
trouble. It appears to me that Federal Law has forced the repro
what a piece ofjunk! The castings were made from scrap, I am
into being a clandestine, undercover operation. The repro man
sure, as they defied welding. The detail was very bad as was
has to make his machine look as much like the original as
possible, or run afoul of the law. He is afraid to advertise his
quality overall. I believe that the Mills factory did not like all
these copies of their designs, as it took sales from them.
product, he cannot spend too much money for good tooling, as he
However, they were probably so busy making machines right
might be put out of business tomorrow. He will be a shaky
after the War, that they did not have time to prosecute the
character at best — cannot blame him, however.
infringers.
I feel the slot machine market needs a good reproduction Mills
cabinet with castings, and a good Jennings one, too. If it were
legal to sell a decent cabinet of flashy design, the maker would
Many of these post-war reproductions are being sold as the
genuine machine, I am sure. If the repro was made in 1946 or
1981, does it make any difference? Some dealers and collectors
might condone the 1946 reproduction, whereas they condemn
capture most of the market, and put out of business the guy
making the low quality stuff. How about a repro Mills cabinet
the 1981 version. They are both reproductions, and both are
with lower front casting of the coin front ROI^A-TOP? And
much inferior to the original factory produced product.
maybe a fake cornucopia with the coins pouring out of it. I can
Today, there are two distinct and different markets for slot
visualize a very attractive machine — maybe so attractive that
machines — one, the collector market and two, the so called
collectors would want to own it. Maybe someone should
.com
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"home market" I would believe that any collector with even
research the Federal Law and find a way to make a cabinet that
slight knowledge could tell an original WAR EAGLE from one
could be sold legally. If an attractive cabinet were offered, I am
:
rom -mus
f
d
e the jackpot inspection
of the repros. Most a
de do c not
ad have
o repros
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cover as a removeable
part,
although
some enterprising guys
a
Dow this. //www.
might change
p: gives you another hint — the originals had
The serial
htt number
serial numbers stamped in with metal tool-makers stamps —
gave a sharp, clear identification. On a repro, the serial number
COIN Arcade
SLOT Museum
© 10-THE
The International
sure I would buy it.
There is one point that we should probably clarify early in the
game. Many of the fake WAR EAGLES are called reproduc
tions, which really is not the correct word — the correct word
should be COUNTERFEIT. If it is trying to passed off as an
original WAR EAGLE, then it is a COUNTERFEIT — same
August 1981
http://www.arcade-museum.com/