C.O.C.A. Times

I asked the mall owner if he remembered a very ornate
peanut machine that might have been sold by the mall.
He said, "Yep, I'm sitting here looking right at it." IT
WAS STILL THERE! The mall owner told me that Pete
had taken it on consignment but had never told him who
the consignor was before he moved to California. he
also said that my letter to Pete was sitting under the
Leebold. I quickly established which Leebold he had
and it was the super one. he said there had been inter-
est in the machine but since he didn't know who owned
it or the asking price, he said he couldn't do anything
until he had more information with him. Then he said,
"You'd never believe how much he wants for that thing.
He want $350 for it and I want to make $100 for all my
efforts." I told him I would give him $450 but he would
have to pay for the shipping from his $100 commission.
he agreed and two weeks later the Leebold was mine!
When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was
a perfect original and that it as a nickel (5 cent) version
and had the chute with the window and was embossed
"Berkley, Cal."
I thought back to when I asked myself "What if he
DIDN'T sell it" and realized that you should never give
up until every effort has been made.
If you have a "Tale of the Hunt" that you would like to
share, send it along with a photo or two to:
Jack Freund
Post Office Box 4
Springfield, WI 53176
Hopefully, we can publish one or two "Tales" each
issue. Meanwhile ... PRAY FOR MORE STUFF!
A second interesting find was also brought to my atten- corned by him and he told me to come in his house. It
was very hot in there, smelled like a barn, and I was ask-
tion:
by Paul Hindin
ing myself, "are you crazy?"
Thought I'd share this great find with you. In the early He told me the machine was in the cellar. So, with
summer of 1993 I was set up at a flea market near almost no light available, we marched down the broken
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I always have a sign "wanting up cement steps to a dimly lit basement. In the corner,
to purchase slots, jukes and gumball machines." An facing an interior wall was a machine, heavily covered
older fellow stopped at my booth and told me he had a with cobwebs and dead bugs. I didn't even want to get
slot in his basement, it didn't work and his description ~ - - - - - - - - ~ n e a r it as it was really
gross down there. Due to
led me to believe it was a Pace All Star Comet. I took
the heat, sweat was rolling
his phone number.
down my face and I was
ready to go back home.
Two months passed and I set up at the market again. I
forgot all about the slot. Sure enough, the same fellow
Realizing my readiness for
came back up to my booth with the same slot. Rather
departure, he suggested we
upset, he asked me why I didn't call him. I promised I
go back upstairs and have
would call him the next weekend. The problem was he
a cold glass of lemonade. I
lived almost two and one-half hours away from me
accepted and we went into
which meant I would have to spend a whole day to pos-
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J
his
kitchen. His wife had
sibly make this purchase. I called him the next Friday
The Kitty
just made some homemade
evening and set it up to see him on Saturday.
lemonade and we sat down at his kitchen table. After
Saturday turned out to be a hot day with the temperature talking for a short time with him and his wife, he got up
reaching about 97 degrees. He lived on a farm in the and said he'd bring up the machine. As he came back
middle of nowhere. When I got to his home, I was wel- into the kitchen with the machine, my jaw almost