Coin Slot

Coin Slot Magazine - #050 - 1979 - March [International Arcade Museum]
Serial Number Update
Another batch of serials from THE COIN SLOT readers, and
this month we have some very interesting machines. These num
bers came from collector Jim Peck and from the state of Oregon,
the latter submitted by J. D. Vasey of Arlene's General Store -- the
shop that got the collectible law for Oregon by instituting legisla
tive action.
Of particular interest is the late serial for a Caille Bros. DICTA
TOR, and the first appearance of a Bally Bell machine in the
BALLY BELL, known to collectors and operators at the time as
the Bally "Double Bell."
But there's also an interesting Mills machine in this list. Check
the HANDLOAD. It's a hard machine to identify unless you see
it, or have a color picture. It's the same as the single jackpot
BLUE FRONT, except it has a front lock for hand filling the
jackpot from the front, and it's painted black, not blue. That
jackpot from the front, and. . .it's painted black, not blue. That
gave it the nickname "Black Front". It's a late machine, but they
tend to be somewhat rare.
A lot of the readers that have sent in serials have asked where
to find the serials on their machines, and many have omitted the
tag date. Theoretically, the serials should be easy to find as they
were made for the operators to find quickly. In actual practice,
however, this gets a little tough. Briefly, for the very early cast
iron Mills Bell machines they die-stamped the serial right on the
front, at the edge of the cabinet below the reels. But when Mills
went to the wooden cabinet, they moved the serial to a die-stamped
number running up the front casting of the machine to the right
of the reels.
If you look at a machine head-on, it'll be on the
right edge at 2:00 to your line of sight. They stayed there for
almost thirty years and can be quickly found on Mills machines
unless they've worn off or were ground off to hide the date of the
machine or prevent a trace if stolen.
.com
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:
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e
us place,
fro the
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d
-
Jennings put them
in
same
as did Pace, Watling,
e
e
ad the middle and late 1930s Caille had
oad But,
l
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r
Caille and others.
by
n
a
.
ow
ww inside
them on D the top,
or
the top casting. Jennings did the same,
w
/
/
:
and often h
only
ttp had the serials typed or written on the paper inside,
or on the inside cabinet wall.
Pace always kept them on the front,
top right.
© The International Arcade Museum
49
http://www.arcade-museum.com/