C.O.C.A. Times
Issue: 2006-July - Vol 7 Num 2 - Page 10
ed Ms. Baker home in the cockpit of my Airbus 320. the purchaser of the second Ms. Baker and met another
Since that time, Murray has been instrumental in my coin-op champion, Ric Gandy of Lousianna. For those
acquisition of other European coin-op games but none of you who are not acquainted with Ric, he is the COCA
that captivate me quite like the one and only Josephine guru of tokens . Ric was further along in the recovery
Baker. While I value this first game that Murray sold of his game than was I. In addition, Ric is a genius and
I am an idiot although I try not to take that personally.
me, I prize his friendship even more highly.
If you've noticed a pattern to my articles, it is that After describing my problem, he was able to figure out
I eventually get in over my head, sooner rather than that my coin entry was at fault. Looking at mine more
later. Do not despair, I will not disappoint you today. closely, I could see that someone had installed thin met-
After getting Ms. Baker home, I faced the task of get- al sleeve inserts into all three entry holes. The effect
ting her "dancing" properly was to reduce the size coin acceptable from the origi-
again. The mechanism is nal French coin down to my smaller sized token. The
quite complex. Looking at fact that the small token would not operate the pay-out
the game wheel, you see that system was deliberate. In addition to removing legal
you can bet on three differ- coinage from the play of the game, they rendered it an
ent colors with each color di- "amusement only" machine. I sent my coin entry to Ric
vided between either a "50" and he removed the inserts for me. With the offending
or "75" token award. Photo restrictors removed, my "Poker D' As" accepted the 25
D shows the interior mecha- centime coin and the game performed flawlessly. I div-
nism including the six dif- vied up some of my pay-out tokens with Ric and we
ferent token tubes and the both came out ahead. I also gained a valuable friend.
sophisticated mechanism re-
quired to accomplish the proper token award for each
Humanity. It comes in many forms and it is the es-
winning color and numbered token. I was fortunate sence of this hobby that we find to be so delightful.
that my game came with a generous supply of both From the machines themselves to the collectors who
the "50" and "75" token awards. Suspiciously, it also help one another as we seek to preserve our collective
came with a fairly large number of "play" tokens to heritage, the human factor is the real treasure of collect-
be used in the coin slots. Why would a commercial ing. Humanity crops up in the most unexpected places.
gambling device from the 1930's be using tokens for Strictly from a cultural perspective, "Poker D ' As" is
play? It should have required the coin of the realm, a a machine with historical significance. To my knowl-
25 centime French coin. Immediately, I began to dread edge, it is the first commercial recognition in the field
some after-market "improvement." The hair on the of coin-operated games of a successful American black
back of my neck began to rise as I put a "play" token woman as a powerful force in her own right rather than
in all three colors to guarantee a "win" and then turned merely as a caricature. Sadly, it took a French entrepre-
the knob, setting Josephine free. The wheel spun, Ms. neur from the 1930's to accomplish this by showcas-
Baker danced and I won! Or at least, the bell rang but ing one of our brightest stage stars from the first half
no pay-out token. I cleaned and adjusted every possible of the Twentieth-Century. This French roulette game
component but still no pay-out. Fasten your seatbelt, now takes on special significance back home in Amer-
ica, more than 80 years after Ms. Baker left her native
here we go again.
The problem lay with the "play" tokens. The coin land for an equal chance at success. She has returned.
played is integral to activating the payout mechanism She now dances for time immortal, delighting another
by way of cams. The tokens that came with "Poker generation of admirers, testament to the fact that great
D' As" were too small to lift the cams high enough for a talent is ultimately timeless and colorblind.
payout. The problem was, these tokens were the largest
POST SCRIPT: Care to have an "AHA" chat about
coin that would fit through the coin entry. Josephine,
are you toying with me? You must know by now, I lead British or European coin-op games? My email is
a charmed life. Every time that I meet my match with jp4@charter.net and my telephone number (952) 891-
these mechanical challenges, an angel appears and parts 2312. Next time we 'll explore that most basic human
the waters for me. Within a month after I purchased my condition, temptation.
"Poker D' As," another sold on Ebay. I tracked down
10
Since that time, Murray has been instrumental in my coin-op champion, Ric Gandy of Lousianna. For those
acquisition of other European coin-op games but none of you who are not acquainted with Ric, he is the COCA
that captivate me quite like the one and only Josephine guru of tokens . Ric was further along in the recovery
Baker. While I value this first game that Murray sold of his game than was I. In addition, Ric is a genius and
I am an idiot although I try not to take that personally.
me, I prize his friendship even more highly.
If you've noticed a pattern to my articles, it is that After describing my problem, he was able to figure out
I eventually get in over my head, sooner rather than that my coin entry was at fault. Looking at mine more
later. Do not despair, I will not disappoint you today. closely, I could see that someone had installed thin met-
After getting Ms. Baker home, I faced the task of get- al sleeve inserts into all three entry holes. The effect
ting her "dancing" properly was to reduce the size coin acceptable from the origi-
again. The mechanism is nal French coin down to my smaller sized token. The
quite complex. Looking at fact that the small token would not operate the pay-out
the game wheel, you see that system was deliberate. In addition to removing legal
you can bet on three differ- coinage from the play of the game, they rendered it an
ent colors with each color di- "amusement only" machine. I sent my coin entry to Ric
vided between either a "50" and he removed the inserts for me. With the offending
or "75" token award. Photo restrictors removed, my "Poker D' As" accepted the 25
D shows the interior mecha- centime coin and the game performed flawlessly. I div-
nism including the six dif- vied up some of my pay-out tokens with Ric and we
ferent token tubes and the both came out ahead. I also gained a valuable friend.
sophisticated mechanism re-
quired to accomplish the proper token award for each
Humanity. It comes in many forms and it is the es-
winning color and numbered token. I was fortunate sence of this hobby that we find to be so delightful.
that my game came with a generous supply of both From the machines themselves to the collectors who
the "50" and "75" token awards. Suspiciously, it also help one another as we seek to preserve our collective
came with a fairly large number of "play" tokens to heritage, the human factor is the real treasure of collect-
be used in the coin slots. Why would a commercial ing. Humanity crops up in the most unexpected places.
gambling device from the 1930's be using tokens for Strictly from a cultural perspective, "Poker D ' As" is
play? It should have required the coin of the realm, a a machine with historical significance. To my knowl-
25 centime French coin. Immediately, I began to dread edge, it is the first commercial recognition in the field
some after-market "improvement." The hair on the of coin-operated games of a successful American black
back of my neck began to rise as I put a "play" token woman as a powerful force in her own right rather than
in all three colors to guarantee a "win" and then turned merely as a caricature. Sadly, it took a French entrepre-
the knob, setting Josephine free. The wheel spun, Ms. neur from the 1930's to accomplish this by showcas-
Baker danced and I won! Or at least, the bell rang but ing one of our brightest stage stars from the first half
no pay-out token. I cleaned and adjusted every possible of the Twentieth-Century. This French roulette game
component but still no pay-out. Fasten your seatbelt, now takes on special significance back home in Amer-
ica, more than 80 years after Ms. Baker left her native
here we go again.
The problem lay with the "play" tokens. The coin land for an equal chance at success. She has returned.
played is integral to activating the payout mechanism She now dances for time immortal, delighting another
by way of cams. The tokens that came with "Poker generation of admirers, testament to the fact that great
D' As" were too small to lift the cams high enough for a talent is ultimately timeless and colorblind.
payout. The problem was, these tokens were the largest
POST SCRIPT: Care to have an "AHA" chat about
coin that would fit through the coin entry. Josephine,
are you toying with me? You must know by now, I lead British or European coin-op games? My email is
a charmed life. Every time that I meet my match with jp4@charter.net and my telephone number (952) 891-
these mechanical challenges, an angel appears and parts 2312. Next time we 'll explore that most basic human
the waters for me. Within a month after I purchased my condition, temptation.
"Poker D' As," another sold on Ebay. I tracked down
10
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).