Product Venders

A five-drachma-in-the-slot sacred water dispenser by Heron of Alexandria (10 -70 AD) was probably the world's first coin automat, and indeed it was vending machines which eventually ushered in the coin machine age, towards the end of the nineteenth century. Although designed to deliver a product, such as a chocolate bar or postage stamp, in exchange for coins, without any element of chance, bitter experience teaches us this is not how they behave. Their mechanical frailties frequently left honest customers short changed, while dishonest folk could get something for nothing. They only became truly reliable, towards the end of the 20th Century, with microchips monitoring their input and output. Their mundane function was often offset by an elaborate outward exterior which served as a form of sculptural advertising.