C.O.C.A. Times

By Johnny Duckworth
way so the coins will zigzag under the glass where the
Rockaway had a rocking disc. The machine will also
give your coin back on a winning play in the confection
vender model equipped with the coin refund feature.
Of course, on the confection vender few people actu-
ally wanted to get a sweet after they played their one-
cent piece. The ideal object was to have it fall into the
right spot and earn a cash reward. However, laws being
what they were, any number of slot machines were also
candy vendors. The Zig Zag model shown is in a birch
cabinet where the Rockaway models seem to be made
of oak.
To play this machine you drop a "penny" in the slot.
The coin will fall down and come to rest at the start of
the runway. Then you have to push the plunger down
on the top right of the cabinet and release the coin. The
penny will roll down the runway to the left, turn the
corner and head back to the right. You can release the
A good motto for collectors of coin-operated machines
coin anywhere on the pin field by lifting your thumb off
might be, "Expect the unexpected." To the delight of
the plunger. This is the "skill" part that kept patrons try-
everyone, on a regular basis, long-forgotten or even
ing and trying again. The coin starts out at the top with
completely unknown devices turn up. This is about
a nice gentle roll, but it picks up speed the farther you
such an instance.
let it ride. The machine has five pockets below which
you are hoping your penny will fall into for a winner.
Some time ago there was an article written looking for
the Jennings "Zig Zag" slot machine but one had never
One thing that makes this machine so unique is that you
surfaced. For all intents and purposes this countertop get your coin played back if you win. I have worked on
machine, never plentiful even in its own era, had gone
several coin drop machines including the larger models
the way of the dodo bird and the three-cent first class
such as the Caille Bullfrog and Mills Cricket. With all
mail postage stamp.
the other machines your winning coin played will al-
ways fall into the cash box in the rear. You will notice
in the photo with the Zig Zag mechanism all 5 chutes
have a corresponding ramp in which the winning coin
will slide into the front jackpot. You can also see in the
close up photo of the front jackpots where the winning
coin would slide out.
Hooray! The search is now over, in the spring of 2009
the slot machine pictured turned up in Florida. The ma-
chine was found by a heating and air conditioning con-
tractor while installing duct work in the attic of an old
home. It was quickly purchased. Soon, it found a new
home in Ohio where several other "one of a kind" ma-
chines are hiding away in a private collection.
The advertisement pictured was written many years
ago in one of the coin-op magazines with both models
shown. The model which was found is shown at the
top, and it also has the jackpot feature which is shown
below. Keep your eyes open as more machines are still
out there waiting to be discovered ....
What will be next?
The Zig Zag may remind you of another model made
by the O.D. Jennings & Company called the Rockaway.
It would be hard to mistake the two machines because
of the blue painted pin field and the large plate shout-
ing out the words "Zig Zag." The machine has a run-
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