Hey - I Have A 1910 Slot Machine!

1949 Mills High Top 7-7-7 25c Slot Machine

It seems like almost every week or so I receive a call from an excited individual telling me they have a slot machine from 1910! Typically these calls result in the owner describing a Mills Novelty slot machine from the 1930’s or 1940’s. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with a machine from the 30’s or 40’s, it’s usually a bit of a disappointment to the owner that their machine is not quite as old as they thought.

So why do so many people think their slot machine was made in 1910? Typically slot machine manufactures did not put a date on their machines, inside or out. What they would do is put trademark or copyright information on certain parts of the machine that were designed by that particular company. Mills Novelty put a copyright date of 1910 under the jackpot bar which said Bell-Fruit-Gum on the reel strips. Mills Novelty kept that information on their reel strips well into the 1950’s. Below is a close-up of the reel strips on a Mills 7-7-7 High Top slot machine we restored. The copyright date is clear, but this machine was made in 1949.

1910 Copyright Date example on a Mills 1949 High Top 7-7-7

The reason I decided to write a brief blog about this was because of a call we received this past January. A wonderfully nice young lady called and immediately told me she had a 1910 Mills slot machine she was interested in selling. Before I could start into my well practiced diatribe of why her slot machine was not made in 1910 she said the following, “the machine says Operator Bell on the front”………

As a dealer and collector of slot machines there are a few key slot machine names that perk my ears up.  Notably Liberty Bell and Operators Bell will stop me in my tracks. As the owner described to me the machine, I knew she really did have a machine made in 1910! One of the wonderful things about being a full time professional dealer in a specialized field of antiques such as slot machines is getting calls like this. While this model is by no means the holy grail of slot machines, it is a special one!

The owner of the machine had found it at a garage sale on the east coast and was inquiring about its value. It always amazes me and sparks my imagination how these great old machines have survived all this time to then be turned up in a garage sale or behind a wall in an old house or building. Pre-World War 1 machines are difficult to find because they were usually made of cast iron and scrapped for their metal during both World War 1 and World War 2. They are also relatively fragile and once the cast iron case is broken, they were discarded.

After talking with the lucky lady who found this machine, we struck a deal. It was a real pleasure to do business with someone and share with them the excitement of finding an early and valuable slot machine like this one.  On occasion we will get calls on early slot machines made by Caille, Watling and Mills, but one that was made on that almost annoying date of 1910 was a real treat and a great start to our year. The machine is a very nice original example and one that will be a lifelong reminder not to cut people off when they tell me they have a 1910 slot machine!

As a side note, the holy grail of 3 reel slot machines is the Liberty Bell made by Fey in San Francisco, CA at the turn of the 20^th Century. By all means PLEASE CALL ME (Don Creekmore) at 316-371-1828 if you have one of these, I would love to sit it next to the Operator Bell!