Pace Star twin jackpot conversion front identified

[junior]

Hi, can somebody tell me what this pace machine is called, and date it was made , thanks

[watlingman]

It's commonly known as a Fancy Front and they did a lot of similar models, some kind of merger with Mills & Pace yours is rare for two reasons - having the Fey emblem, and not sure if this is a modification of sorts, but can't find any with a lock on the front!

[treefrog]

Seem to be quite a few on google........

[brigham]

I was looking at the whole machine, rather than just the front.
That 'double jackpot' front was sold as an 'add-on' by Pace, to fit a '29 model Mills (like mine), and only afterwards offered on an all-Pace machine, which this appears to be.
It was copied from a Rockola front, and itself copied by Fay.
I'd like a better look at the top casting from above, to see the cast-in badge more clearly.

[watlingman]

Yes you're right! Also found it in one of my books!

[gameswat]

Watling, where are you seeing the Fey emblem on that original machine? It reads Pace.

[watlingman]

The original pictures a bit blurred I can see and just thought the round emblem says fey! I stand to be corrected.

[nvmos2]

Although it looks very similar, the machine at the top of this thread is not a Pace Fancy Front; the Fancy Front is the nickname given to one of the early machines in the Pace Comet line; the first Pace Comet looked a lot like these machines, then they made another Comet version (about 1935) that was a bit fancier, hence the nickname Fancy Front for that version Comet. Obviously, the early Pace Comets looked quite different from the later Pace Comets.

The machine at the top of this thread has a Pace Star twin jackpot conversion front; Pace made the front casting and jackpot mechanism to convert older non-jack pot Operator Bells to have a jack pot in order to modernize them and extend their service life.

From about 1926 to 1935, many slot makers and jobbers produced jack pot "fronts" to convert older model slots without jack pots into jack pot machines. The Star may have been the most popular JP front style made and Pace produced it for years. It was so popular that at least 6 other companies (including Fey) copied them and produced them in large quantities.

[nvmos2]

A note on the Star twin JP conversion front;
there is a photo posted above of a page from Fey's book "Slot Machines";
that book attributes development of this front to Fey.

It's actual history is somewhat convoluted and is given by Dick Bueschel in "100 Slot" Volume 2;
he credits development of the Star twin JP to Fey, but Fey took it to Wisconsin Novelty to produce, but they could not handle it and it ended up being first produced by Pace.

[gameswat]

It could be a Jennings machine that was converted with the Pace jackpot, because the top casting appears to be Jennings. Note the small square slug window and large raised reel window frame. But it could also be a Frankenstein, the whole machine has been over-restored with chromed alloy castings and new reel strips etc, so who knows, it could just be a pieced together job from spare parts!?

[brigham]

So it's Jennings, then!
I couldn't find anything with that tiny slug window.
One of the less common machines. A refreshing change from the Mills conversions, which are legion.

[watlingman]

Thank God somebody knows what they're on about and yes I've actually got a Pace Fancy Front and they are quite different as you point out!

[coppinpr]

I believe the lock on the front releases the back door which has no lock at all. I thought the logo on the top was Jennings. Even the award card is not strictly the correct one, it's from a Comet.