Marketplace

I
MARKETPLACE
NEWSLETTER
PAGE 5, APRI l 30, 1975
A Touch of History-
From Penny to Quarter
It's been a long, long road from Penny Play to Quarter Play. Yet, this is contained
within the lifetime of every old timer in the industry. Perhaps some of the young men
and young women now engaged in the industry may be surprised to hear pinball first came
to market as a counter game at "10 Balls 1¢". The 3 "Bs" that started the pinball craze
in 1 31, "Bingo", "Baffle Ball", Ballyhoo", first came to market as counter games featur-
ing 11 10 Balls 1¢" play action. An enterprising ironmonger created a folding iron stand at
S2 and thousands on thousands were sold to hold the pinball games.
When a new manufacturer, Genco Mfg.Co.,Chicago, came into the picture with a game he
called, "Jiggers", which was an imitation of a Bally game, it sold for $16.50 but added
4 wood legs to be attached to the cabinet with long screws. This new appearance brought
up price of play to "5 Balls 1¢" and s ome of the more venturesome went up to "5 Balls 5¢".
That was the beginning of 5¢ play - in 1932. Mills Novelty Co.,Chicago, forever ended the
iron stands when this big slot maker presented the o.11 black cabinet "Mills Official" in
1932 vith four wood legs attached to this pinball game. "Mills Official" was set at "5
Balls 5¢ 11 and that became the pricing standard for all pinball games from thenceforth.
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The era of 5¢ play lasted into War II. In the meantime, in 1934, came the first, mod-
ern type jukebox with selectivity and volume control, the Wurlitzer P-10, featruing ten
78rpm shellac records, but playing only one side of ea.ch record. The play was priced at
5¢, 6 Plays 25¢. List price of the P-10 was $250 with discounts for 5, 10 and 25 quanti-
ties. The year before, 1933, prohibition had been voted out of existence and a new type
saloon called, "Taverns", became the rage. Just in time for the jukebox to run wild in
sales. The jukebox brought back the dormant recording industry, revived "Tin Pan Alley",
in fac t , created a new music world.
From 1932 right into Ya.r II, which ca.me into being officially on December 7, 1941, 5¢
play dominated. Vith the war, coin machine production halted as all the big factories
plunged into the war work effort. Prices for used ma.chines zoomed up and far above what
the same machines had sold for when brand new. Inflation entered into the U.S. economic
picture. In the very midst of all this trepidation and turmoil we presented a new publi-
cation to give the nucleus of men that existed in the industry a confidential medium of
communication. We won over the OPA (Office of Price Administration) and they allowed a
special copy of our "Confidential Price Lists" to be set for the industry all during the
war. Ve obtained a letter from Paul V. McNutt, War Manpower Commissioner, agreeing juke-
boxes would not ha~e to be closed d own at midnight and could play a.round the clock •
In 1944 we started to crusade for "Dime Play" because the handwriting was on everyone's
wall that prices of new equip't would go 'way up and inflation was clobbering the nickel.
We urged 10¢, 3/25¢ play for jukeboxes . Straight 10¢ play for all games. The first post-
war convention in 1946 proved us right . The "March of Dimes" helped. The Bell Telephone
System helped with 10¢ pay telephones . And in '49 when the late Lyn Durant presented his
"Shuffle Alley" at the unheard of high price of $349, Dime Play became the nation's stand-
ard. In 1965, after we were urged to come back into the industry and had already created
"Marketplace", we started to yell f or "2-Plays 2-Bits". Followed this a few years later
with our campaign for "1-Play 2- Bits" and 70/30 commission basis plus $10 "service charge".
That's where we are today. (If you'd like t o have us present more historical details in
addition to our "Pictorial History" editions, write: Marketplace, 185 N. Wabash Ave.,
Chicago, Ill. 60601. Perhaps we'll tell you how a nd why we created MOA (Music Operators
of America) 26 years ago.)