C.O.C.A. Times

ing the Depression." He said that Art placed ten
Model B (aka Long Gate) nickel machines in the
early 1930s. "They came right back to the shop.
Nobody could afford a nickel at the time . I bought
those 10 from him, along with the other 800. He
never used them again ."
Probably his most interesting source for Co-
lumbus machines was Bill Enes. Phil says he met
Bill in 1980 in Chicago, and Bill would stay at his
house when he came out to the Southern Califor-
nia Funfair each year. He said Bill would always
bring a couple of very nice Columbus machines,
"and he gave me first pick. Bill was so knowledge-
able about coin-op. He taught me so much about
collecting , and not just Columbus."
Phil also collects globe molds and produces
repro globes from many of them. The Columbus
Company decided to close after their factory was
destroyed by fire in 1954, and Phil was able to
acquire their orginal molds. He is the source for
the #8 and #9 no-star and star Columbus globes,
produced from those original molds.
He has molds from other companies as well,
from which he produces globes and he sells them
all over the world. He has collected various molds
just to preserve them for the future.
When asked what was the biggest misconcep-
tion about Columbus that he wanted to set straight,
Phil answered, "Many Columbus collectors who
are aware of the 25 cent Model 34 Gamblers be-
lieve that there were only 125 of these machines
made. I have personally seen at least 100 of them,
in various locations like Texas, Chicago, etc. and I
Phil's rare Model A Pistachio, with a #10 globe.
Showing the aspirin vendor lid.
have personally owned 8 of them. So I find it hard
to believe that Columbus would tool up in the early
1950s to make only 125 machines. "
His favorite Columbus? "I would have to say
the Long Gate (Model B) of the more common
machines. Of the rare
ones, surely my ZM
with the #10 globe
and , of course, my as-
pirin vendor." Aspirin
vendor? "Yes, Colum-
bus made an aspirin
machine that looked
similar to a Model
M, but with a very
strange lid. Inside,
the aspirin was dis-
pensed in a small tin
foil ball that you broke
open. Not too many of
these around."
Model A deep coin entry.
So, where did Phil
get the name "Mr. Columbus?" He says either
Dan Davids ("Mr. Northwestern") or Bill Enes first
gave him the handle. Early in his collecting days,
another collector, Skip Conner, had told him to
specialize in one company. "You have a chance
to get all of the models and maybe variations that
way," he said. So Phil took Skip's advice and coin-
op people soon noticed that all he wanted was
Columbus machines. The rest, as they say, is
history. ■