C.O.C.A. Times

MISSOURI VACATION
by John Carini
We started out early Saturday on June 14th. On our
way to Kansas City, we decided to stop in Des
Moines, IA. We had stopped on a previous trip to
Colorado, and found many nice antiques and coin-
op machines at the Brass Armadillo and Majestic
Lyon. This time, we weren't so lucky. We saw some
bit of advertising, but not
much in the way of coin-op.
Mostly common machines.
In one booth at the Majestic
Lyon, we found an Advance
condom machine for $150
and a 5 cent Hershey vendor
for $250 (see photo). We
moved on.
from the Brass Armadillo. They had a
Victor halfback for $100., and a
1940's 5-cent candy machine (not for
sale) - (see photo). Then we moved
on to the city of Harrisonville. We
stopped at several shops there. One
particular shop, Keeper's Antique
Mall, had several coin-op machines. I
purchased an old Ford with a Vendex
globe on it for $100. They also had a nice strength
tester for $275, a Mouthy Marvin Northwestern on
sale for $350. and a few other common machines
(see photos).
We stopped at a few more shops as we
got closer to Kansas City. Platteville is
just North of Kansas City, and had
several nice shops. In one, Picker's
Antique Mall, there were a number of
coin-op machines, but most were over
book price. I was able to purchase a
1920's Northwestern match machine
(see photo) for $120. We stopped at a few more
shops before going to our hotel.
The next morning the family did a little sight see-
ing. We stopped at the newly remodeled Kansas
City Grand Central Station, and visited the
Hallmark visitor's center. We also stopped at an
attraction called the Treasures of the Steam Shop
Arabia. It was fascinating. In the late 1980's, an
exploration crew located the Steam Ship Arabia,
which had sunk in the Missouri river back in 1856.
What was interesting was where they found it - in a
cornfield - several miles from the Missouri river. It
seems that over the years, the Missouri river had
changed course a number of times.
The next morning, we were off again. We stopped at
the Kansas City Brass Armadillo. They had 3 nice
restored 1951s Seeburg juke-boxes (see photo), all
priced at exactly $6,999. We found a
few stamp machines, parking meters
and a unique music box selector ( see
photo) for $125. We also stopped at a
classic car/antique mall not too far
The steamship was buried 45 feet beneath the sur-
face, and the excavation crew hit water at 16 feet.
Pumping the water out added to the time and
expense of the excavation. It took nearly 6 months
to completely excavate the steamship and its con-
tents. (We later found out the water had actually
helped preserve the steamship and its contents). But
finding this steamship was special. When the
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