Columbia 10 Cent Slot Machine
Owning a vintage slot machine is one of those fun yet daunting ideas. Many old school one-armed bandits are beautifully designed and instant conversation pieces. Plus slot fans who own a machine don’t ever have to worry about losing money to the house.
ITEM Morphy Auctions / VCA Spring 2009 Auction / 10 Cent Columbia By Groetchen Slot Machine C. 1124 10 Cent Columbia By Groetchen Slot Machine C. Side view of the Groetchen Columbia Bell slot machine; image credit on full record. Find Current Values for your Antiques! A Groetchen Columbia Bell 10 cent slot machine, circa 1930s original 3 reel slot. Welcome to my antique slot machine home page. I am a collector of antique slot machines. I have one of the largest collections of 3 reel machines in the US and am constantly looking for interesting machines to add to my collection. Unlike other collectors, I rarely sell machines, in fact, some people call my collection the 'Black. The first mechanical slot machine was developed by Charles Fey in 1895. This machine already featured the familiar spinning reels with fruits and card characters. Fey later worked with the Mills company to produce a wider line of machines as they grew in popularity. Jennings, another early slot machine manufacturer.
Mantiques Network Demonstrates How To Unjam A Mechanical Slot Machine. WE BUY, SELL, RESTORE cool antiques at: http://www.mantiquesnetwork.com/.
Charles August Fey, a Bavaria-born inventor, was living in San Francisco when he invented his first gambling machine in 1984. His games grew to be so popular at local bars, he quit his day job and opened a factory to start mass producing them, most notably the Liberty Bell machines in 1899. A lot of the functionality from that early game remained in place through much of the 20th century. Watch this video to see the seven mechanical actions set into motion when you pull back the bandit’s arm. The inner workings are probably a little more complex than you expect.
Columbia 10 Cent Slot Machine
Given that a lot of old slot machines are hand built, it isn’t surprising that coins can get jammed on their way through the mechanism. Big warning: If your machine jams, don’t force the arm or you can break, twist or damage a part inside. Different models and makes tend to have common jam points. The Mills model shown in the above video can have coins stuck in the “elevator” section that displays the last five coins dropped into the machine. Getting the slot working again can be as simple as cleaning the gunk off of an old part. You just need to be smart when you’re disassembling and reassembling the machinery.
Okay, there are plenty of more places where a coin can get stuck and the above video demonstrates how to fix a variety of jams. It also explains how to disassemble the major parts of the machine and where common problem areas are.
Curious how an antique slot machine knows how much money a winner gets? This video shows the punch-card like communication that trips payouts and how. If you ever need to replace the reel symbols or calibrate the machine you’ll need to understand how these work. Even if you don’t ever plan on owning a machine, the metallic “circuitry” is interesting to see.
Columbia 10 Cent Slot Machines
Want to own a modern slot machine? New ones have plenty more bells, whistles and dings, and also a lot more advanced parts. If you plan on getting one, you may want to have an idea of what’s inside. In addition to the classic reels, there are speakers, motherboards filled with programming chips and plenty of wires. Unless you have a way with a soldering iron you probably won’t try and fix it. But in case you do, here’s a clip from Discovery showing what’s inside.
Did you know newer slot machines are smart enough to test themselves when a problem happens? This video shows you the procedure for having the machine check its own system. The host’s desert dry delivery is also enough to make this vid worth a watch.