Turn back the clock...

[john t peterson]

Regret is the Mother's milk of collecting. At this time of reflection, I'd like to start a thread of regret. Looking backward, if you could turn back the hands of time and retrieve only one game that you no longer own, what would it be?

To start the parade, for me, it would be "The Cricket Match" by Automatic Sports Company.

How about you?

Regretfully yours,

John Peterson

[coin-op]

You've set the bar high with your regret; I don't think anyone will come up with any better sob story than that one. I presume each time you look at your bank balance that it's a little consolation . My regrets seem to be more a case of those machines I had the chance of and didn't buy...a payramid for £300, the machines I had agreed to buy and trusted the seller...only for him to sell them to someone else, the machine I did'n't buy because I asked my wife's opinion and she didn't like it...I then decided I liked, but by then it had gone (and the seasoned seller who looked like father time said that was the only example he had ever seen in 50 years of collecting ). Also, there's the heartache of being the next in line behind the guy who bought the machine that you coveted....that's happened a few times too.

[daveslot]

To start the parade, for me, it would be "The Cricket Match" by Automatic Sports Company.

Same for me John, but I would add a Tansley working model.

[longbobongo]

Mine is not a pennymachine as such but a pinball i sold to a big collector in the USA.

It was a game called Rat Race by Williams. only 10 made and 6 found check here of my actual game. http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=rat+r ... quick#3718

It had been stored almost since new as it was a proto and proved unreliable onsite. i picked in up from a op who was selling his buildings and want all the machines gone.
There were...

12 Pinballs (SS)
40 Vid games.
60 Jamma PCBs
100 ish fruit machines (80s)
5 sega one arm slots

The Rat Race wouldn't fit through a standard door way and lived in the garage for 2 years before i sold it. Pinballs and cold garages don't mix. No one in the UK was willing to stump up the money so I offered it on RGP (US pinball group) and the offers went crazy. It was a toss up between two US and a German guy. He paid via bank transfer before even seeing the game - very trusting. I shipped the game well packed and it arrived safe and sound. Great to deal with honest people - there are a few left.

Problem is wish I had it back now as it was nice to own what was probable the rarest pinball in the UK.

I will tell the full story of the warehouse raid with pics another snowy day........

[arrgee]

John, let us not look back but forward.

Looking forward is the only way for me since my beloved collection was stolen last year, among which was a lovely Pessers Moody Wrath & Gurr Clown totally original, a great condition Bryans Gap Win and a 10 Cup, plus more.

Sad, pissed off and angry I was, but what can one do, other than look forward to building up a collection again. It only makes me sad to look back. I couldn't even contribute or look at this forum for many months as it hit me so hard, there were some very personal memories attached to those machines.

[coin-op]

Hi Arrgee, there were many of us who read of your catastrope and pretty much shared your loss (in the sense that we could very much empathise with it). I hope that what goes around comes around for those responsible and also that you can make some 'finds' and re- engage with the hobby. A New Year, a new beginning!

[john t peterson]

Arrgee,

I can only echo the sentiments of Coin-op. Your loss was a blow to all who collect. If there is a special Hell for coin-op thieves, those blokes are headed for it. Best wishes with your re-building efforts.

John Peterson

[longbobongo]

Stolen......

How did it happen was it a chance break in or targeted.

How many of us here dont have any isurance. what a scary thought.

Did you have serial numbers or pictuers of your machines. It could be possible someone on hear may have bought one of them innocently and could leed you back to the person who stole them. you never know......

Sorry to hear of your loss.

Regards
craig

[ilovemyjukebox]

I'm really sorry to hear of your loss too..

As "An officer of the law" I am quite suprised to hear that they were taken..

They are not going to be the easiest thing to get rid of and must start showing up soon...

I do hope that you catch the bug again... Good luck

Dave

[pennymachines]

Arrgee - when I read about your misfortune in the MMM I intended to contact Jerry about putting pictures here in the Forum, so that, should any of these machines re-emerge at auction sales etc., they would be quickly spotted. If you think this a good idea, please email them to me or Jerry and I'll put them up, or you could post them in a new thread yourself. I'm away for a couple of weeks tomorrow (no, Mr Thief, my house will not be empty) but can attend to it upon return. I could create a separate stolen machines forum, although hopefully it will remain a rare enough occurrence to make that unnecessary.

[operator bell]

They are not going to be the easiest thing to get rid of and must start showing up soon...

...unless they're in one of those shipping containers and halfway across the Atlantic already. I'll keep an eye out at this year's auctions.

[JC]

I have to admit, when I published details of Richard's stolen machines in the magazine, I did think it would be useful to post pictures online. I've now posted scans of the article in the MMM forum, and will email Richard for his permission to post the original colour pictures.
In retrospect, this should have been done sooner, but I suppose better late than never.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1597

Jerry

[arrgee]

Many thanks for all your kind thoughts and words, as I have mentioned in MMM, I really do not know whether I was a target or not, there were quite a few other items stolen as well. I one respect I would rather the burglary to have been a chance break-in and the machines subsequently sold off at some car boot sale for £100 each, rather than some low life iniquitous collector having them.

As Craig has mentioned above, how many owners have their machines covered under insurance? The reason why my insurers paid up was because I could prove 'ownership' and that was the first question asked by the insurers. And how did I prove ownership, by taking many photographs of the machines from different angles and views and also inside the machines as well. Even down to photographing mechanisms which often have their own marks or scratches on them that no other machine could have. Those that had serial numbers were also photographed close-up. One word of advice, make sure that the perceived or 'realistic' value of any machine is within your policies single item limit, if it exceeds the limit you will not get full reimbursement if stolen, you will need to add it to the policy as an individual item with a bona-fide valuation submitted to the insurance company.

If any of my machines were to come up at an auction, or if I saw a machine, I would be able to easily recognise it, even if it were not in its original case, if you don't have a reasonable camera to record all these details - get one now and start clicking !

Thanks Mr PennyMachines for offering to open up a Stolen Machine forum, I would not object to that as it would give any would-be (or existing) purchaser and collector prior knowledge of such machines.

Jerry, many thanks for all your help during, and since that period and I have no problem with the original photos being posted.

Having gone through this experience I would certainly encourage anyone to install good security measures within the place that they keep their collection, I would willingly sell one machine to pay for these precautions if it preserves the rest!

And yes, I am now re-engaging with this most fascinating and interesting hobby of ours, as you say Coin-op - a New Year, a new beginning.

Richard

[JC]

Colour pictures now posted in the MMM forum. Pennymachines might want to move them to a new forum or create a new thread when he returns from his travels, but in the meantime please use the link in my above post to view.

[bryans fan]

I can only add my sympathy to those already expressed to Richard over his lost machines, I know I would be absolutely distraught if any of my machines were stolen. One thought I did have which I would share with you all is that many of my machines are securely screwed to the wall and the keys are hidden, thus making them more difficult to steal quickly.

[raj]

sad and distressing though theft is, I'm afraid bolting the machine to the wall will not stop theft, all you will have as reminder is a piece of ply left securely attached to the wall and the certain knowledge that when the loss is sold on, it will probably say, needs back & new lock.
Brilliant comments about taking photo's, also if bought on ebay or auction, keep the reciept or advert as proof of purchase. Good to know the serial numbers of stolen items so that very specific questions can be put to the seller & the responce can be passed on to the police if it looks like the slot is stolen.
happy new year

[badpenny]

Total sympathy to Richard over this awful event and I'm sure we've all benefited from his sharing the details and advice he has to offer.

I'm very surprised that amongst our ranks we don't have an insurance expert who can walk us through the minefield that is the world of insurance. However we do have a large membership who only read, so if there is a lurker out there who can advise please come forward.
Whilst waiting for that I'll chuck in what little I learnt during a year and half working as a Man from The Pru when I was a skinny runt in my twenties. I've also worked as a postman and a milkman and I can assure you the confessions of a man from the Pru would make better reading than the other two as you get invited into almost every house .... anyway ..... that's for another time.

You've all experienced the percentage of total insured per single item and the clause about being under insured, but may not know how they work. 30 years ago when I was out there trudging the streets with my book under my arm I used to dread anyone making a claim against house contents for it invariably ended with them getting less than they (or even I) expected.
Most people at the time of insuring underestimate the value of what's in their house because it's difficult to do and anyway the premium goes up the more you value it, so they take the most valuable item, TV etc work out the single item percentage to get it covered then see if the total seems to be enough to set themselves up with a new home if they lost everything then act accordingly.
Problem is when you make a claim they produce all sorts of statistics and graphs to argue that you'd only covered a third of the total in your house so all they are prepared to pay out is a third of your claim. OUCH!................ and just imagine how a collection of antique slot machines confuses the issue? My advice is come clean about what's in your house and ask the insurance company to advise you on how much you should insure for. Then if the worst happens at least you can say you were acting on their advice.

Now The Disclaimer: -
+ I don't practice what I preach
+These are only my opinions based on experience of 30+ years ago
+ I'm sure the Insurance Industry of today would be more than willing to rush round and just throw oodles of money at you, don't you?

You can get specialised insurance for all sorts of hobbyies etc. Perhaps some enterprising bod on here could talk a company into taking the time to understand ours and cut through all the difficulties of recognising different machines, companies, valuations etc. ... in exchange for being recognised by us us the preferred insurance company that understands us?

[treefrog]

You can get specialised insurance for all sorts of hobbyies etc. Perhaps some enterprising bod on here could talk a company into taking the time to understand ours and cut through all the difficulties of recognising different machines, companies, valuations etc. ... in exchange for being recognised by us us the preferred insurance company that understands us

One of the things that is always an issue on policies is around specialist items that would not fall under the household contents, collectables etc over a certain value. Most insurances inist on valuations by an appropriate qualified source to then get a quote for appropriate insurance cover. This of course is an issue, as who do you go to, other than antique dealers or auction houses, who largely are not that up to date with the true value of this market. This is often reflected in the wild estimate often put on amusement machines at auction. There is also the cost, when finding the appropriate people and getting them from say London to Leeds to value your machine.

What about setting up an appropriate specialist body that could be self regulated and provide specistist advice and insurance estimates for all it's members? This is something a lot of other collectors groups have done say like the MG owners club