Coin Slot

Coin Slot Magazine - #089 - 1982 - July[International Arcade Museum]
Pappy Sez:»
Larry Lubliner
It's better to check a winner than bet a loser!
Q. Dear Pappy:
I greatly enjoy your articles on unusual slots.
Keep up the good work.
I am enclosing some pictures of an old, old
French slot machine in hopes you might be able to
identify its vintage and possibly place a value on it.
It takes a one franc coin. The manufacturer is Le
Croo of Le Havre. It is called "Roulette C.G.," serial
number 531.
Hoping you can help me, I am
R.M.F.
Bridgewater, N.J.
Dear R.M.F.,
Pm certainly glad you wrote me, because it will
give me a chance to say a few things about foreign
machines.
First, lefs answeryourquestions. Your machine
was not made by Le Croo of Le Havre, but rather
by Bussoz of Paris. Le Croo was more likely a
distributor of Bussoz's machines in the Havre
area The Roulette was probably made sometime
just prior to World War I. The policeman figure,
which acts as a pointer, is one of fifteen to twenty
different figures used on their machine. Other
figures were the Goddess Fortuna, a boxer, a
judge, a balloonist, etc. If the machine was in the
flea market in Paris, it would probably be priced at
between 1,500 - 2,000 Francs which is $300-
$400.
It has always been a mystery to me why foreign
machines are so disparaged by American collec
tors. Perhaps it's the mere fact that they are
foreign, or the right coins are not readily available,
or they are not well made, etc., etc. Whatever the
reason, I believe foreign machines are undervalued
and underestimated. They are well made, ingen
ious, and every bit as pretty as their American
cousins. There is absolutely no logical reason why
Americans should snub their noses at foreign
machines.
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48 International
— THE COIN
© The
Arcade SLOT
Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/
July, 1982