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!

Mills Novelty Special Gum Vender Liberty Bell Restoration - Best of 2011

Nations Attic performs quite a few restorations on antique slot machines in the course of a year. Alot of the machines are classics from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Sometimes the owners will share with us the stories behind the machine and why they are having it restored.

My personal favorite story and machine to restore this past year (2011) was a rare 1911 Mills Special Gum Vender Liberty Bell. Cast iron slot machines and trade stimulators from before World War 1 are rare. It’s always a treat to handle one and study how they were made.

 

Earlier in the year we had a gentleman in Oklahoma contact us about restoring this machine. The photos above show the condition it was in when it arrived in our shop. While not in horrible condition, it had been painted over with an orange paint, the mechanism was seized up and broken in 3 spots, the award frame was bolted to the lower front casting and the curved glass was missing.

While these early machines are smaller than examples from the 1930’s and 1940’s – they are heavier! Apparently the owner had been using this piece of American cast iron history as a weight in the back of his truck when it iced and snowed! While it did serve this purpose well, he decided to check with us to see if this machine had any value or not.

After checking with us about its value and restoration costs, he decided to bring to our shop in Wichita, Kansas and have it restored. He then invested in some sand bags to put in the back of his truck for weight rather than using a 100 year old slot machine, ha ha! All kidding aside, the owner is a wonderful guy with a great family story regarding the machine and reasons for having it restored.

The Mills Novelty Special Gum Vender Liberty Bell is a really great looking machine. It is one of the very first three reel slot machines made. When Mills Novelty came out with their Operator Bell & Liberty Bell machines in 1910 they knew they had a hit on their hands. So in 1911 they made a version of the Liberty Bell that vended rolls of mints. This machine originally had a mint vender attached to the left side of the cabinet. In almost every case the side vender attachment is missing, as it is in this case. This is also why the lower front of the machine appears to be a billboard for Liberty Bell Gum-Fruit 5c packages!

After taking the old paint off the castings, polishing and having them re-nickel plated all of the details came alive! The early mechanism with its simple form was actually more challenging to work on since Mills had not developed all the user friendly features that are common on 1930’s machines. With all the usual restoration details attended to, this machine will live on – just not in the back of a pick-up truck!

We have included some photos of this historic machine after restoration below. While the machine turned out looking great it was even better to present it to the owner and re-unite this piece of American history with the family!