Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

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badpenny
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by badpenny »

Smart ...or what?
Well done coppinpr!
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madmickshere
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by madmickshere »

Final update on my machine, it's now finished apart from getting new barrels and keys for the three locks. It fully works and pays out (with a terrific force), everything seems to be made of an over engineered quality. It works without electricity and with it all of it's three lights work, as can be seen in the fourth and fifth pictures.
I know the vast majority of you prefer the wooden machines but for a very heavy metal one I think it's turned out well flash, some of which I wouldn't have achieved without the help of members on this forum.
Can anyone tell me the age of this machine?
Two clues are, it does have Nevada USA embossed inside (does this mean it is not a Nottingham machine? and the other, it takes Thrupenny Bits.
Thanks again
Mick
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coppinpr
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by coppinpr »

You have done a great job and saved another machine from the scrap heap. !!THUMBSX2!!
Easy to see this is your first machine, if you think it's heavy - it's one of the lightest!!! :D
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coppinpr
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by coppinpr »

The build quality is almost always very good on bandits, Many a Mills mech is 80+ years old and still going,Aristos are pretty much indestructible,even the German wall machine mechs which were built to last three years are still around. Im currently dismantling a Jennings mech for cleaning(on 3d as it happens) its filthy,oxidised grease half an inch thick but the wear is practically zero,the only part with any wear is the rubber stop that protects the handle return,and if I reverse that it will be as good as new!

your machine is almost certainly mid to late 60's, the 3d goes out in early 1971,some late machines were made to be easily converted but clearly this was not so it is unlikely it was made later than 69. TF will know the date im sure.

I suspect the castings are all the same and dont reflect where the machine was made, perhaps the the cases came in ready made from the USA and the distributor added the glass and the payout parts, which did happen.

if you need any 3d coins let me know,I bought a couple of hundred at Coventry on Sunday for my Chinese Front but the machine is full so Ive got some spare.

Whats your next machine going to be
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madmickshere
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by madmickshere »

Thanks for the info. I did think it was about that age but the 3d did confuse me a bit. As for the coins I'm probably alright. I have 8 in the machine and a bag full somewhere plus old pennies, that's when I can find them.
As for my next machine, who knows? I'm always looking but those in the auctions in the West Midlands are too dear for me, so I guess it will be whatever turns up locally on my travels.
quadibloc
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by quadibloc »

I found this machine to be very interesting.
On this site, I had learned about British machines with payout schedules very different from those of American slot machines in order to cope with the legal limitation to a maximum payout of 12 pence (one shilling, 5 new pence). This one follows the conventional payout structure, coping with the small allowed payouts by also paying on two symbols the same.
Apparently merchandise prizes of a higher value were allowed, given the Gold Award Token for three sevens on this machine.
The photo of the fully-restored machine with its front opened showed that the sevens were overprinted on other symbols on the wheels. Both that photo, and the earlier ones in this thread, showed a strawberry on the third reel. That had me incredulous, as it did not seem like there was any need to have a non-paying symbol on the machine to reduce its percentage.
However, that also made me wonder. Did that strawberry replace a lemon, with the overprinted sevens meaning that these machines used the repurposed mechanism, complete with unchanged perforated disks, of a Mills 21 Bell slot machine?
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coppinpr
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by coppinpr »

I think all these mechs were purpose built by Bell Fruit using tooling bought from the dead Watling Co and imported into England, Bell fruit made a host of variations (mostly for use in pubs) my favourites have the beer label reel strips, I was lucky enough to have this one for a while. a detailed history of the company can be found here if you want to know a little more https://www.penny-arcade.info/the-bell-fruit-
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brigham
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Re: Bell Fruit Three Penny Supreme

Post by brigham »

I have the Double Diamond one, in the console cabinet.
The payout glass is just-to-say acceptable, until you turn the light on.
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