This information provided via the courtesy of Vintage Slots of Colorado, Inc.

If you have an antique coin machine and want to sell it, please send me an email. If I am not interested in it, I will forward your email to a collector who probably is.


The following information is the web version of Coin Op on CD which was a book all about antique coin machines and it was distributed on a CD-ROM. This book was written in 1995 and sold in 1996. Please take this into consideration when reading the articles. There are no plans to come out with version 2. However, we do plan on periodically updating the information on the web version.
The CD version of the book has pricing information as well as a dealer directory. Since the prices are out of date and many of the dealers/collectors may no longer be collecting the machine we have purposely left this information out of the web version. However, we do keep in contact with many dealers and collectors who are actively buying and selling machines and would be happy to put you in touch with one if you have a machine you are looking to sell.

If you are looking to purchase an antique coin machine you may also send me an email and I will put you in touch with a reputable dealer. Odds are, I will not be selling the machine you are looking for (since I rarely sell any machines).

Keeping Up With Coin Machine Collecting
By Dick Bueschel

We seemed to have hit a hot button last time around when we mentioned the existence of vintage coin machine magazines. Fanzines are a better term, as these are not high circulation publications. Let's talk about them.
But first, a few facts of life here. There are an estimated 1,500 hard core vintage coin machine collectors that have anywhere from 3 to hundreds of machines, usually cross pollinated. A typical collector type will have 2 or 3 slot machines, a scale and a juke box, with probably a few gumbal machines on a shelf and maybe a trade stimulator or two. They run the gambit.
A serious collector will fill rooms with the machines, and finally end up putting an addition on the house. A collector friend of mine has a massive Queen Anne house in a small farm town northwest of Rockford, IL, and has restored it to elegant condition. The only problem was and is his collection. One day his wife said that she needed another room because well, she was preggers. And there they had this 14 room house with only one bedroom because every other room except the kitchen and the two johns were filled with pinball games and slot machines and venders and the like. So he had an auction, started selling off stuff, and put an addition on the back. I asked why he added the room and he said they wanted another child.
That's a serious collector. But there are about 10,000 not-so-serious rec room vintage coin machine owners out there about ready to go over the edge and buy a second machine. And when that happens, it's addition time on the horizon.
How do these enthusiasts keep up with things? That's where the fanzines, and columns like this, come in. Maybe you're interested in taking that next step. Might I suggest that you make it in paper. A good fanzine or two-most serious collectors get them all-will teach you a lot in a hurry, and you'll soon find yourself a member of the "club." You'll also be machine knowledgeable and will brace yourself against making a big mistake. So here's a rundown.
There have been a number of fine publications in this hobby. Unfortunately, we have seen a number of them come, and go. A number of the ones that have survived, and the new ones that seem to offer the greatest cross section of interesting information, can be invaluable to you in learning about this hobby, and keeping up with its shows and values.
A new entry, and packed with articles and advertising, is Coin Drop International. It comes out 6 times a year, and costs $12 per year. Send money to 5815 W. 52nd Avenue, Denver, CO 80212.
Another generalist publication is Gameroom, a rarity as it is a monthly. A typical issue is around 48 pages. It tends to be copy thin with technical repair articles in the main, although their coin-op show coverage is great, and it is loaded with ads offering coin-op stuff. Cost is $26 annually, with $3 for a sample issue. Contact Gameroom Magazine, 1014 Mt. Tabor Road, New Albany, IN 47150.
The next generic fanzine is called Coin-Op Classics. Starting out as a bi-monthly, it has just shifted to a 5 issues a year. Typical issues have been 60 pages or so, and color is used. Editorial covers the range of coin-op collectibles, but tends to center on juke boxes, trade stimulators and slot machines. Two great features are "Fabulous Finds" about interesting machine discoveries and "Movie Watch," the latter a regular column that tells you what movies have coin machines in them. Cost is $39 annually, and they have a sample issue price but I don't know what it is. Write to: Coin-Op Classics, 17844 Toiyabe Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708.
Finally there is an interesting newsletter generic that comes out monthly and reproduces old spec sheets with comments by its folksy publisher, Ted Salveson (who calls himself "Kindhearted Ted"). Ted calls his sheaf of stapled papers Salveson's Coin Machine Trader, and does just about the best job of all of the fanzines in getting responses to ads. The cost is $20 year, with a sample issue free. So if you drop a line to "Kindhearted Ted" you'll get something for nothing. Contact: Salveson's Coin Machine Trader, Box 602, Huron, SD 57350.
There is another fanzine with a free sample issue, and that's Coin-Op Newsletter, a white paper newsletter format published in Washington, DC by Ken Durham, a coin-op dealer and writer. Machines are always for sale on its pages. The editorial direction tends to center on counter games, trade stimulators, vending and slot machines, with scales, juke boxes and pinballs nowhere to be seen. Cost is $24 for 10 bi-monthly issues, and that free sample. Write: Coin-Op Newsletter, 909 26th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037.
That shift in coverage leads us to the single subject fanzines, and there are a number of those, too. Just about the most successful is a monthly called Jukebox Collector. You've got to like juke boxes a lot to read this one, but if you do you shouldn't be without it. Cost is $30 annually, and a sample issue is $3. Contact: Jukebox Collector Magazine, 2545 SE 60th Court, Des Moines, IA 50317.
And if pinball is your meat, there is a super fanzine just made for you. A typical issue is 36 pages, and mostly new game coverage. Cost is $30 annually, sample issue $3.50. Editor Jim Schelberg has somehow gained entrance to the pinball industry and has sat in on many design meetings. It's exciting reading. Contact: pinGame Journal, 31937 Olde Franklin Drive, Farmington Hills, MI 48334.
There you have it, enough to keep you reading about vintage coin-ops night and day if you are so inclined. There are even more of these fanzines, but these are the biggies. If you do ask for sample issues, or even subscribe, tell them that you saw the mention of their publication in Dick Bueschel's column in Antique Week. It'll help them think well of me.

Q. - Please find enclosed photos of Exhibit's CONTACT pinball. I want to sell it. When was it made and what's it worth? S.K., Green Bay, WI
A. - First of all, Steve, it's a classic. The Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago CONTACT was introduced in April 1939, five months before war broke out in Europe. The exciting part of the game was that it simulated carrier war, with aircraft "flying" around the backglass as bumpers and holes are made. The game is a pre-flipper, so there is no way to flip the ball back up the playfield. But its kickers and bumpers do the job very well indeed. Normal value is around $250, but that's in a major population center. Pinballs are big, and expensive to ship, so buyers have to make long trips to get the game. So I'd say in Green Bay, WI, you can look for about $150, in spite of the fact that it is one of the "better" collectible games of the thirties.
Q. - I have enclosed pictures of my slot machine. Any information you could provide me would be greatly appreciated. A stamped return envelope is provided for your convenience. I would like to trade my slot for a PACES RACES. A.B., North Massapequa, Long Island, NY
A. - Thanks for sending the pictures of your Seeburg GRAND NATIONAL automatic payout race game. The machine was made in 1934, and never advertised. That makes it somewhat of a rarity, and difficult to track. But rarity sometimes has little effect on value. Your machine, in top flight condition, is valued in the $1,800-$2,500 range. But yours is missing the elaborate front casting from the upper right front of the machine, which diminishes its value. On the other hand, the PACES RACES isn't rare (there are hundreds!), yet it is more valuable, say around $7,000-$10,000, so a straight trade is probably not in the cards.
Q. - The coin-op machine I own has a broken handle. Do you know where I could get a replacement? The back door is missing, too. And what can you tell me about the machine? What kind of value would it have? W.M., Madison, NY
A. - Other than that broken handle, it's a beaut in the counter game class. The machine is the Groetchen 21 VENDER, made in Chicago by the Groetchen Manufacturing Company from 1934 to 1937. It was usually on cigar counters. As far as parts go, it's tough. But the one place you might find them is: Bill Whelan, Slot Dynasty Restorations, 23 Palmdale Avenue, Daly City, CA 94015. Send him pictures and ask for both the handle and the back door. Funny thing, but the handle might be easier to get. As far as value is concerned, in good shape, all parts intact and the graphics readable, it would go for between $100 and $300.
Copyright Richard M. Bueschel, 1991