OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

American, British, French or German? We want to know about it.
aristomatic
Posts: 1123
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:13 pm
Reaction score: 4

OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by aristomatic »

Firstly, I'm no expert and I'm sure even experts will disagree what constitutes rare...What is fact is which machines we actually currently own so cannot double count. I'm only interested in 100% fully mechanical mechanism, one arm bandits, although fluorescent tube lighting is permissible. Rare of course doesn't always relate to more valuable either so doesn't matter what machine is, just how rare it is....OWNED IN UK.

I also want to include only machines that had a full production run e.g. machines that are rare now as only relatively few remaining, not primarily that were always few in number. If the thread takes off maybe the site owner could do a poll at the end to decide a top 3 or similar?

Condition irrelevant. For example if you own a Jennings Governor MKII that's likely to be rarer in this poll than a Jennings Governor although a Mark II is probably likely to receive a lower auction bid, but rarer? There may be some surprises - who knows? I have been downsizing my bandits and have sold my rarer machines but I'll start off with these that will not be in the top 3 but don't get advertised for sale too often:

Mills Bellomatic 4 Reeler 25c

Jennings Governor Pearly King & Queen on 6D (if it passes production run parameter)

Chip in with suggestions, if not made clear etc., or parameters need revision to improve. If a collector doesn't want to make public, then fair enough, maybe they could pm me? Or the Site owner, later to include in a poll at the end without matching machine to owner and possibly its location for security purposes. Hope I've covered most things. I'm sure there are many rarer machines than this, maybe European manufactured?
User avatar
badpenny
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7212
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 12:41 pm
Reaction score: 25
Location: East Midlands

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by badpenny »

Not American, German.
But were imported into UK under the 3 year rule.

I've had two, I sold one about a year ago, and still have one.

The Monimat.

Monimat.jpg
Monimat.jpg (5.79 KiB) Viewed 6857 times

I have Aristocrat Clubmaster, Horses Head, usual Jennings and a Watling Rol A Tor, but these funny little ugly German machines I find as cute as hell. Likewise GΓΌnter Wulff machines re-cased in Formica

BP
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5111
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by coppinpr »

I like your criteria, opens a more interesting bracket than "rare". We may also find some machines more common that we thought.

I love my 1960 Wulff "Jupiter" which I bought very cheap at Coventry one year and works perfectly, You certainly get your moneys worth,all spinning globes,flashing lights and whirring motors,all of which seems to go on for ever thanks to the German "you must get your moneys worth" laws of the day.Ive been told by German collectors its rare :!?!:


juipter.jpg



I also like my Groetchen Columbia Deluxe "Club" on 6d with the correct coin denominator and UK coloured number reel strips, the club is a little rarer than the usual Columbia because it only has one JP.


columbia.jpg

and I like my latest machine the 1939 J.M.Sanders "Imperial" trade stim with cigarette reel strips and working gum ball dispenser, apparently a machine not very common.


finished.jpg

aristomatic
Posts: 1123
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:13 pm
Reaction score: 4

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by aristomatic »

Don't think that Sanders qualifies?
User avatar
treefrog
Posts: 4813
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:46 pm
Reaction score: 31
Location: Suffolk

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by treefrog »

You could go on for ever here and suspect we would put forward favourites rather than rarity, but sticking to the rules, so bandit, rare and non electric:

Aristocrat Kingsway Mad Melons, still very high up my top list, not a common theme and one of the first machines I bought.


FA07222C-B812-4D7E-8A13-BF7EDB6D5AC6.jpeg

The Merkur, classic shape and not common.


6E9F8ADE-7F80-40F7-B062-BAC1EF4C2328.jpeg
6E9F8ADE-7F80-40F7-B062-BAC1EF4C2328.jpeg (26.76 KiB) Viewed 4446 times

I lied about the rules and added in an electric one, but it is a bandit, the Nixie tube from Semco, not common....
Attachments
93C3CA7F-48E4-4D68-BA03-0C6B746389A6.jpeg
93C3CA7F-48E4-4D68-BA03-0C6B746389A6.jpeg (29.71 KiB) Viewed 4446 times
User avatar
badpenny
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7212
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 12:41 pm
Reaction score: 25
Location: East Midlands

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by badpenny »

The Golden Mint with The Nixie Tubes has to be very rare, I wouldn't have any idea how many were made but there can't be more than a handful left.

One good frustrated thump from a player must have soon eaten up the spare stock of Nixie Tubes.
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5111
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by coppinpr »

aristomatic wrote: ↑Tue Apr 17, 2018 3:06 pmDon't think that Sanders qualifies?
Fair enough ..but why? It is a 100% fully mechanical mechanism, one armed bandit, it had a full production run, and it's not common. Why is the poor little chap being thrown out? :#:

Now my choice of the Jupiter does NOT fit the rules, it's true, although it does have three spinning reels, but if he goes so does Tom's Nixie. :lol:
User avatar
clubconsoles
Posts: 363
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:36 pm
Reaction score: 2
Location: Lowestoft, Suffolk

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by clubconsoles »

This is probably rarest in my collection.
Attachments
20170405_114449a.jpg
User avatar
brigham
Posts: 1180
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:37 pm
Reaction score: 2

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by brigham »

Strawberries! That rings a Bell...
quadibloc
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:28 pm
Reaction score: 0
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Contact:

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by quadibloc »

It's true some Caille machines had strawberries as a symbol. On this one, the strawberries replace oranges, the crown replaces the bell, and the Silver King replaces the bar. The crown makes me think of the 6 Fruit 6 Rotamint, and the Silver King makes me think it came from a Silver King Casino somewhere. So I'd be inclined to just put the strawberries down to it being a European machine rather than surmising a connection with Caille.
User avatar
badpenny
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7212
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 12:41 pm
Reaction score: 25
Location: East Midlands

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by badpenny »

clubconsoles wrote: ↑Wed Apr 18, 2018 7:57 pm This is probably rarest in my collection.
I know this is nearly 2 years old, but I'm a bit slow these days ..... why would a machine that is a vendor front (twin columns to boot) also have a side vendor? How many tubes of mints does the operator want you to have?

BP !PUZZLED!
User avatar
gameswat
Posts: 2196
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 5:17 am
Reaction score: 21
Location: perth, australia

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by gameswat »

BP, those are dummy packs in the front, there's no way to vend them.
User avatar
watlingman
Posts: 92
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:44 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by watlingman »

Three of mine. Let you decide if you think they qualify for rare, I will just say find me another!
Attachments
AB15C363-61E6-4110-A969-8842CA66E0Aa.jpg
901852FB-4C39-4795-ACCF-E677EF702A0a.jpg
8099AA0C-9167-4801-A4AD-E56EAB5AEC0a.jpg
User avatar
gameswat
Posts: 2196
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 5:17 am
Reaction score: 21
Location: perth, australia

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by gameswat »

quadibloc wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 3:58 am So I'd be inclined to just put the strawberries down to it being a European machine rather than surmising a connection with Caille.
Quad, except it's a 5 cent machine so made for US operation. Don't remember any Euro slots marketed in the US and did the Europeans even have any need for mint vendors? The name is cast into it, by Silver King Novelty who were quite large selling private labelled Mills and revamping Mills and who knows what else.
User avatar
clubconsoles
Posts: 363
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:36 pm
Reaction score: 2
Location: Lowestoft, Suffolk

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by clubconsoles »

watlingman wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 12:06 pm Three of mine. Let you decide if you think they qualify for rare, I will just say find me another!
I would say I've never seen a FOK front casting like that, so let's say it is a rare revamp of a common machine, as is my Silver King which is a revamp of a common Jennings "Mints of Quality" gooseneck from the mid '20s!
User avatar
brigham
Posts: 1180
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:37 pm
Reaction score: 2

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by brigham »

Is a Watling Treasury rare, or it there something unusual about that particular one?
User avatar
clubconsoles
Posts: 363
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:36 pm
Reaction score: 2
Location: Lowestoft, Suffolk

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by clubconsoles »

Not really, less were made than the Rol a Tops but Treasury still had a Seven year production run.
The problem with Treasury is the castings have been reproduced and bolted onto blue seals which are much more plentiful.
So the Treasury population has doubled and half of them are repro, which has hurt the value of the real deal!

Thankfully, most of the repros are sand cast and some of the fine details in the coins are lost, so if you compare it to a real one, it's easy to see.
If you don't have one to compare to, it can be hard to discern.
Most made from Blue Seals tend to be without jackpots, have no second coin return chute and a blue seal handle instead of a wider Rol a Top handle.
I know Watlingman's machine and I can safely say it is the real deal.
User avatar
watlingman
Posts: 92
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:44 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by watlingman »

It's also a mint vendor Treasury that makes it a little harder to find, but not impossible I agree!
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5111
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by coppinpr »

I think the early basic Treasury had the front shown below. I guess the vendor front on the one above was standard for vendors and was the same lower casting used on some Rol-a-Tops, although the first Rol-a-Tors had the mints visible on the vendor, at least Thomas White Burns Watling stakes his reputation on it!!
Attachments
add.gif
add.gif (58.68 KiB) Viewed 4052 times
tres.jpg
User avatar
brigham
Posts: 1180
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:37 pm
Reaction score: 2

Re: OK, let's talk RARE one arm bandits....

Post by brigham »

Surely the mint vendor is blanked-off? You wouldn't use it as a vendor like that, it defeats the object.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests