Wonders Dropacopper
By Robert Rowland
You probably all know by now that I usually buy a slot machine that holds memories
from the happiest days of my life, which were the swinging sixties. Well, Wonders
Dropacopper fits the bill nicely.
Wondermatics were a company based in Tottenham that were well known for
producing giant allwins such as Honest Joe, Steeplechase and big Wheel. They also
made many smaller allwins such as Wonder Win, Wonders Pools and Win and Place.
Dropacopper was their only non-allwin machine, dating from 1965. It is an electric
payout drop-case wall machine, which measures 32" high, 20" wide and 9" in depth.
The machine has an attractive coloured playfield and a round coin entry at the
top. When a penny is inserted, it drops down into any one of nine coloured columns.
Five of these columns are lose, and the other four pay 3d, 6d, 9d, or 12d. The five
losing columns are white, the 3d yellow, 6d orange, 9d pink and 12d red. The word
'Dropacopper' just below the coin entry is in bold yellow lettering on a dark blue
background. It is a real rainbow of colours.
In order to reach one of these columns, the penny connects with what I can only
describe as rubber tap washers screwed into the wooden backboard, which are
strategically placed in various positions around the playfield. When I unscrewed and
removed one of these rubber washers on my machine, I noticed behind where the
washer had been there were three different screw holes, and this was the case
underneath a few others (so someone had been messing). The slight moving by hand
of these rubber washers makes a massive difference to the game play. By moving it
only a small distance, it would be impossible for the 9d win to come up, it simply
directed the coin into the same white lose column every single time. The same could
also happen on the other winning numbers if these washers were moved.
I must have had my Dropacopper front glass in and out well over thirty times,
and to do this you have to loosen and take out four nuts and bolts, as well as
unscrewing a further five screws before finally being able to remove the thick front
glass. At this point my thrilling memories were sinking fast and I was thinking "just
move it on to someone else." But I really wanted my Dropacopper working correctly,
so that every win could be achieved.
After many hours of tinkering and fru stration I elected to settle with it as I now
had it. Even now, my machine is over-generous and it empties on most occasions that
someone plays it. The payout tube on the inside of the machine only holds thirty-two
pennies, which is not a lot when you start to get a run of 9d wins. Also, the losing
coins don ' t always drop into the payout tube, as they drop down at great speed.
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