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 Since the prices are out of date and many of the dealers/collectors may no longer be collecting the machine we have purposely left this information out of the web version.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).

They Call Them Soda Machines
By Dick Bueschel

There are fads, and there are phads (meaning phenomenal fads). Soda machines come under the latter category. You can see it at the coin-op shows, and in the vintage coin machine media. Pop machines, essentially bottle venders, are hot. So hot, they have even "matured," with the genre settling down into a price realignment. Meaning we are finally beginning to know how many of one machine survived, and of another, and can start to determine which ones are rare, common, collectible and those not highly desirable. It is the classic bell curve of enthusiasm, analysis and acceptability, and something vintage coin-ops go through just as businesses and other enthusiasms.
When we first talked about vending machines and drink venders, that's what we called them. Our listing of vending machine formats some issues back referred to "Drink (Coffee, soft drink, hot or cold)" machines, and already, by that time, they had changed names twice.
You can often tell about the acceptability of a coin-op format by its books. The pop venders were first classified as "Coke machines," meaning Coca-Cola", even though the collectibility went far beyond the red ikon of American life. Little by little the collectors of these devices learned that there was life after Coke, and some enthusiasts for the machines became fond of saying "It doesn't have to be red." The meaning was apparent. There was also blue for Pepsi-Cola, mint green for Dr. Pepper, an off-orange for Royal Crown Cola, white for 7-Up and a few other oddball soda pops to round out the collectibility.
That's the interesting thing about the Soda Machines, as they are now collectively called. More than any other form of vintage coin-op collectible and vending machine, they go by brand name. The makers, Mills Novelty in Chicago; Bevco in St. Louis; Cavalier in Chattanooga, Tennessee; the old Glascock in Muncie, Indiana; the massive Vendo of Kansas City (and now Fresno, California); the similarly named Vendorlator of Fresno (later bought out by Vendo); Westinghouse and others made their machines to order and sold them to the branded names on their cabinets. Westinghouse, for instance, sold only to Coca-Cola. Same for Cavalier. But others ran across the competitive gambit, with Vendorlator selling to all comers, such as Coke, Pepsi, RC, 7-Up, Dr. Pepper and others.
But deciding what's good, and what isn't so much of a find, requires knowledge as the variations are numerous. As in all fine antiques, and particularly in coin machines, you "Gotta know the territory." That means if someone comes along and wants to sell you a very rare Pepsi-Cola Vendo V-39 from 1949 be wary. Vendo didn't make one, but a recent "restorer" probably did. The true soda pop enthusiast knows the difference. If you don't, you could get stuck.
Same for selling. With the values of soda poop machines fluctuating all over the map it would be to your advantage to have some idea what your box is worth before you attempt to sell it. That's getting easier, because there are now two good books on the subject. One is rather restrictive, concentrating on Coca-Cola machines alone (an okay position for 1991, but not today). But it is an interesting book with a lot of insights into the business. It also provides a good range of Coca-Cola coin-op and non-coin cold box values. The book is Vintage Coca-Cola Machines by Ebner and Wright. You can get it from Always Jukin', 221 Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98104. The book costs $20.95 plus $1.50 postage for a total of $22.45. The latest edition also includes an updated 1992 price guide with color pictures of 8 Coke machines that weren't included in the original book. So it is nicely updated to the year.
The other book just came out, and it has a much broader editorial coverage. It is called Classic Soda Machines, a Field Reference and Price Guide. It is written by Jeff Walters. In it, all of the machines are shown in their original colors, a very helpful guide to determining the accuracy of a pop vender you might find, or want to sell. You can get it direct from the publisher, Memory Lane, P.O. Box 6239, Laguna Niguel, CA 92607. The cost is $29.95 plus $3 postage, total $32.95. I got mine just a week before I wrote this column, and have referred to it perhaps 30 or 40 times since. I found it a good read, and very informative.
There are also dealers in these machines. The three in my area that have an extensive inventory, buy and sell, have replacement parts and restore these machines, are:

Home Arcade Corporation
1108 Front Street
Lisle, IL 60532
708.964.2555
FAX: 708.964.9367

RJB Restorations
451 N. Lake (Route 45)
Mundelein, IL 60060
708.949.0056
FAX: 708.566.7579
J & R Saloon Novelties
819 Meadow Drive, RR 2
Elgin, IL 60123
708.464.5661

A note of warning. Because soda machine collecting is so new, and volatile, some of the machines that were barnburners last year aren't this year, and have seen some dramatic price drops. Likewise, now that some of the rarities have been identified other machines are increasing in value. It's like getting on on the ground floor of a new collectible, with all of the risks and possible gains. So if you're hooked on soda pop venders, your time has come. Coming, later no doubt, will be interest in the cup venders. They have been avoided to date as the bottle venders are the preferred machines. But cup vending is a high potential machine for the next hot soda machine collectible. Do any of our readers have any? I'd like to see some, so send in pictures if you have them. You could be on the cutting edge of a new collectible.
Display by RJB Restorations of Mundelein, IL, at a recent ChicagoLand Slot Machine Show. The 50s style diner counters and stools are new. Soda machines in the front row are a 7-Up Ideal 55B and a what appears to be a Pepsi-Cola Heintz chest. In the back row, forward to rear, are a Vendo V-39, V-44, a Cavalier MASTER and another V-44.
J & R Saloon Novelties at the ChicagoLand Show. In the back row, front to rear, are a Vendorlator 110 with its window, the Vendorlator 72, a Westinghouse STANDARD floor cabinet and a white-topped Vendorlator 88.
Q. - I found this Coke machine at a garage sale. I believe it is a Model V-81 based on the information inside the door. How old? Approximate value? R.B., Normal, IL.
A. - You may have made the garage sale buy of your life with that Vendo Products Company V-81 of the middle 1950s. One restored model recently sold at auction for $2,500, and in shops they will go for from $1,500 to about $2,000 depending on condition. If you were selling you would get around $500 based on condition. But why sell? It's a nice thing to keep.
Q. - Could you identify my two Coke machines. The floor cabinet electric cooler is a Model 44, and the large one the Vendo 5›, no part number. Any information and value would be appreciated. C.H., Springfield, MO.
A. - Your Cavalier 44 (a look-alike for the Westinghouse JUNIOR) Coke-Cola cooler of the mid-1930s to the war years is a nifty piece, and even though it is not a coin-op it is a sought after collectible. If you don't need the money a cooler like this is wonderful for a back porch or a summer cottage. To collectors they are worth maybe $250-$500 give or take. If you're giving, maybe $200, and if you're taking, twice that.
Your Vendo Products Company V-39 upright of 1949 until the middle 1950s is an even bigger hit. Dealers sell these machines from $750 to about $1,500 depending on where, when condition and restoration. If you were selling you might expect $350 to $400 or so, so it's a nice piece.
(c) Richard M. Bueschel, 1992