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 Since the prices are out of date and many of the dealers/collectors may no longer be collecting the machine we have purposely left this information out of the web version.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


The Jukebox Is In A Class By Itself
By Dick Bueschel

The jukebox has been one of the most enduring fads in vintage coin machine collecting. Long before people around the country (and, following that, the world) got interested in old slot machines and counter games, soon discovering vending and scales and arcade and whatnot, people of means and parents of teenagers saw the virtue of picking up an old jukebox and keeping it in the basement rec room, out at the cottage or somewhere that kept the kids at home and good old records playing. Sturdy and durable (they had to be because they were made for public places), strong sounding and often terrific looking (particularly with bubble tubes, and changing patterns of colored light) these pieces of commercial come-on turned into great items of furniture. The boy or girl who could invite other kids over to drop nickels into a jukebox and dance (or just listen!) was a fortunate child indeed. The whole phenomena was a set-up of preservation for the vintage coin-op collectors of a later day, for it was these home saved machines that initiated the jukebox collecting trend.
Jukebox collecting has a history all its own. Most private owners had one box which they used and abused, and that was enough. But little by little others saw the beauty and charm of the machine, and started to pick up more boxes, and ultimately speakers and remote wall and countertop selectors. Which is one of the more interesting facets of jukebox collecting. Some collectors don't even have a jukebox, preferring to specialize in speakers, or bar boxes. Classics of their genre have become recognized, with the Seeburg 3W-1 (3W for "3-wire system") wallbox of the 1950s, with its flipping tables of record selections, becoming a 50s pop culture ikon of sorts. You can see its shape recreated to this day in novelty radios and telephone directories. Fortunately, the original location population of these wallboxes, and others of the period, were so high you can still pick them up in antique shops and malls at reasonable prices.
Other true classics include the Wurlitzer "Strike Up The Band" Model 250/350 speakers of 1939, the classic Seeburg "Teardrop" speakers of the late 30s and immediate post-WW2 period, and the legendary (because of its flashy beauty and the fact it was produced in such short supply) Wurlitzer 580/580A wall mount lighted speaker and selector combination of 1942. Some people even specialize further by collecting jukebox manuals, wiring sets and other paraphernalia.
But for all that, it's the boxes themselves that come in for the greatest attention, for they give a coin-op machine collector something that no other vintage machine can provide: selectable music! Jukeboxes are music machines first, and coin machines second. That alone is probably why they were on a collecting track all their own, and seemed to remain quietly underground for so many years. But once vintage coin-ops became the collectibles of the day, starting in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, jukeboxes began to slowly crawl out of the woodwork and rec rooms. One of the reasons for their slow start as collectibles was the fact that they were still operation in locations all over the country, and the supply seemed endless. In the middle 1970s you could still go to an operator in most major or even smaller metropolitan areas, and pick up their old machines for $100 each or less when they moved new equipment into the routes and music locations. Stories of warehouse finds in the 60s and early 70s told of stashes of jukeboxes for a few bucks each, with some pickers even leaving the jukeboxes behind to get at the slots and arcade games. The coming of 45 RPM records in the 50s had made the older 78 machines all but passe, enduring in those home based rec rooms where the records were still in ample supply and the kids loved to dance to Golden Oldies. Jukeboxes just weren't regarded as antiques as slot machines and trade stimulators were, but just sort of hung around as old outdated machines.
Then something happened. By the late 70s, when 45 RPM jukes were still being picked up for a couple of hundred dollars or so, the old 78s began to rise in value. Suddenly they were collectibles, and antiques. When collectors discovered how few of the 1941 Wurlitzer Model 850 "Peacock" jukeboxes remained, they rose in value from $200 to $500, jumping to $1,000 and then screaming forward in the 1980s past the $10,000 mark. One recently sold at auction for $32,000. The immediate post-WW2 Wurlitzer 1015 playing 78 RPM records became the favored collectible for its classic curved cathedral top, and vales raced upward. By the early 1990s the machine had broken the $10,000 mark for a prime condition collectible, where only a dozen years before they were junkyard fodder. This was particularly unexpected because the Wurlitzer 1015 remains one of the highest population jukeboxes ever built, with no semblance of rarity to it. It's the look, and desirability, that counts, in one of the strange paradoxes of vintage coin machine collecting. Even today, with half a dozen different replications of the 1015 being reproduced, including both 45 and CD versions made by the surviving Wurlitzer plant in Germany, and with over 10,000 of the newer versions already sold, the machine remains a viable acquisition. The original 1015 is a classic, and holds its value.
These are the exceptions. The rule is that jukeboxes are worth about ten times today what they were a little over a decade ago. Does that mean that all jukeboxes are valuable? In the sense that they are collectibles, yes it does. But as far as the dollars are concerned this is not necessarily true. Once you get past their public armored exteriors and cushioning against shock (such as slapping, or kicking) Jukeboxes are delicate machines. To be acceptable as collectibles they have to deliver their advantage and provide music at command. If a box is past restoring, or needs a lot of work, it'll price as a basket case. And getting $200 to $300 for a less than desirable model is lucky. Conversely, classic and desirable jukeboxes command high prices. For instance, a Seeburg 100 SELECT-O-MATIC 45 RPM that sold at dealer retail for $450 in 1983 sells for anywhere from $1,200 to $3,200 today depending on the model and condition. At wholesale, and if the machine needs some work, you can still expect to get anywhere from $600 to $800. There are signs that this collecting fad has levelled off, with prices no longer on the climb. But they have held their level and stayed there, so there is no apparent drop off. In short, if you want some great vintage music around the house, consider getting a vintage jukebox for 78s and 45s, or even a repro or one of the better replications, with the latter available also in CD. And if you've got an old one you want to sell, learn what you've got and get an idea of rarity, desirability and value, and then enter the marketplace with confidence. Or if you are attracted to the machine and want to keep it around the house, consider a restoration to get the best out of it. There's nothing quite like the sound and the look of a vintage jukebox blaring out one of your favorite nostalgic tunes.


Q. - As a new and green coin machine collector, I would appreciate any help regarding the finding, buying and prices of coin-ops. I'm interested in jukes, slots, bowlers, pins, scales, etc. I guess you get the picture. D.R., West Seneca, NY.
Q. - Give me the names and addresses for publications interested in coin machines. I am particularly interested in coin-op electromechanical amusement machines. R. B., Akron, OH.
A. - You're both what I call diverse collectors. You want it all, and why not? You are, in marketing parlance, "horizontals", so I would suggest a broad area publication that covers all forms of coin-ops. The magazine is Classic Amusements, and it comes out 6 times a year for US$36. Call 703/968-9665, or write Classic Amusements, P.O. Box 315, Clifton, VA 22024. They also have a raft of advertisers that offer machines at current market prices. You'll see the ads. You should also get some price guides and get educated in values. They are available from the Bookshelf department of the magazine. If you're interested in pinballs, there's a specialized publication called pinGame Journal, a monthly for US$45. Write to pinGame Journal, 31937 Olde Franklin Drive, Farmington Hills, MI 48334. You might also consider going to some of the local coin-op shows and get an idea of what's available at what cost.
Q. - My tall, wooden Exhibit Supply vending machine was destined for Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio, but somehow found itself in a garage. I think it never saw any service. The internal cards are still intact. The "Charming Bathers" insert is dated 4-15-41. What do I have? R. D., Washington, NJ.
A.- Your Exhibit Supply Company 1941 STREAMLINE CARD VENDER is an absolute treasure. The machine was made for one year only, late 1940 to late 1941, with the cabinet changing graphics and the top header the Fall of 1941. So it's a short life machine. The fact that it is mint is wonderful. And so is the card supply. Valuewise, the going rate for a dealer sale of the STREAMLINE CARD VENDER is around $650 or so, so if you're selling you can expect to get about half that. The trick is, find one. I've only seen a few of these things over the years, and yours is perfect, with the right subject and the right date; bathing beauties on the eve of America's entry into World War 2. This is pinup heaven!

Q. - I am a new subscriber to Antique Week and find your Coin Machines column very interesting. We have an antique oak coin machine. The metal nameplate on front says, "Coin Assorter, Manufactured by Rochester Novelty Works, Rochester, NY, U.S.A. I tried to contact the company but they are no longer in business. When you turn the handle it sorts coins into 4 different drawers: quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. The kids always want to play with it. How old do you think it is? G.G., Cincinnati, OH.
A. - Your Rochester Novelty Works COIN ASSORTER is a classic piece of American commercial antiquity, and it is probably a lot older than you think. Before the manufacturing industries moved to the midwest and Great Lakes regions along with the railroads, water reached western New York State and Cincinnati were the industrial boom areas of the country. Rochester, New York, was particularly blessed with the new smokestack industries, and was a major manufacturing center. Coin sorters were created for retail businesses and banks, or any location that had a cash flow. Saloons used them as often as haberdashery shops. The idea was to keep the hands of clerks off of the cash flow while making the coinage easier to count as much of the public was fiscally illiterate. They had their vogue in the 1880s up until the faster mechanical coin counters of the late 1890s and into the 20th century. The fact that it is a "store piece" is evidenced by the missing slots for halves or silver dollars, or any gold coins. It sorted the mundane daily coinage of a shop or bar.
The Rochester Novelty Works ("Novelty" didn't mean slot machine. It was used to denote something different from the norm, or a unique product of any kind) appears in the March 1894 D&B book as a maker of "Pews, racks, &c," so they may have made their counter to sort church donations from the congregation. A few years later they were out of business.
Copyright Richard M. Bueschel, 1993