The Salisbury Auction
Overall, I think the auction can fairly be described as a success; all credit to Southern
Counties for their organisation of this event. Bearing in mind slot machines are not really
their 'bag', I think they did a remarkable job. Certainly, this is an ideal venue, being
centrally situated for those of us in the southern half of the country, although perhaps too
far south for anyone north of the midlands. The premises are ideal, with good facilities
including reasonably priced food and a bar, and not forgetting ample parking!
Lot numbers and variety were down on last year, although this was to be expected;
last year's sale being something of a ' one off'. Allwins and bandits dominated, with a
good variety in both categories. At the bottom end of the bandit range, Aristocrats; Segas
and Jubilees seemed to be selling for fairly predictable prices. Jennings Governors must
have been breeding like rabbits overnight, there being five on offer, realising prices of
£425 - £800. At the top end, a Mills Poinsettia and a Jennings Victoria each sold for
£800. A Mills Extraordinary failed to sell at £650.
Prices in general were low this year, this being particularly evident in the allwins,
although some of the lower prices did rather reflect the condition of some of the
machines; there were a lot of ' projects' on offer this time! Machines that sold included:
Wonders Quick returns £300; Whales Penny Points £250; Brenner Ball Past the Arrow
£380; Whales Players Please £200; Bryan's Elevenses £270 and another for £320. Prices
such as these would have been unimaginable a year or so ago, even accounting for
condition, and do seem to reflect the general fall in values that we ' ve seen recently. Is
this due to a lack of newcomers entering the world of vintage slot collecting?
Bryan's machines were a bit thin on the ground this year, although five Clocks were
on offer, again selling quite cheaply at £230 - £270 with a slimline version selling for
£390. An early white face Pilwin sold for £725 and a Retreeva made £2400. A Bullion on
old penny play, in original condition, failed to sell at £380
Most of the larger, floor-standing machines failed to sell, they included: Green Ray
(£1900); Wurlitzer 1080 Jukebox (£6500); floor-standing foursquare Sweetie Allwin
(£950) and one of the stars of the show, the Mutoscope Magic Finger (£2300). Figures in
brackets are the prices at which bidding ceased.
So, all in all, a good day out (apart from the weather). I understand that Southern
Counties were pleased with the event, and will be conducting another auction at the same
time next year. I' ll keep you posted.
A full list of prices is posted in the Arena
on the pennymachines website.
www.pennymachines.co. uk
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