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This sale is for the vintage Diamond Front slot machine in the pictures: Local pick-up only: no shipping.
Antique slot machines are an interesting item to collect. But DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST and know what you are buying.
CURRENT NOTES:
There have been a rash of fake Golden Nugget slot machines up for sale lately.
There have also been several reproduction War Eagle slot machines regularly listed.
If you see a Golden Nugget or War Eagle slot machine up for sale, you should assume that it is a fake or reproduction until you have learned to be able to spot an original.
BUYER BEWARE:There are fake and reproduction slot machines listed on this site virtually everyday.
Antique slot machines and trade stimulators have been reproduced and FAKED.
Among the most common fake reproduction Mills slot machines is the Golden Nugget.
(Relatively few machines were made for use in the famous casino; there are tons of fakes out there; most look new (\"restored\"), but the patina of an older machine does not make it authentic; learn the tell-tale indicators before buying!)
(If you find a \"Mills Golden Nugget\" for sale, you are best off to assume that it is a reproduction until you have learned enough about them to be able todifferentiate an original from a reproduction.)
Another of the most common slot machine reproductions is the Mills War Eagle. They are regularly seen up for sale and advertised as originals, on this site and at sales and shows across the country.
( A 25 cent Mills War Eagle painted gold (not yellow) with a fake escalator with coins glued in place behind the small upper oval window is an example of a fake machine.
It is NOT a vintage machine; it is a modern reproduction (and a poor one at that)).
Several other model vintage Mills slot machines, such as the Roman Head, Castle Front, Bursting Cherry and Aitkens Front Extrabell have also been widely reproduced/faked.
Other reproduction machines include the Watling Rol A Top and Treasury models and even the Jennings Witch has been faked.
These machines can be found up for sale every day.
Many of the parts, mechanisms and castings on the old machines were interchangeable. Often machines are sold that are a hodgepodge of old and new parts. Many of the machines that have been passed off as original machines are made up of reproduced castings, newly built wood cases, and mechanisms that come from entirely different models, which may be much newer than the machine advertised, or even out of Sega machines, the Japanese version of a Mills slot machine.
It is unfortunate that a person unfamiliar with old slot machines who thinks they are buying a valuable antique ends up paying a huge price for a reproduction. What they bought may in fact not have a single part that was ever on an original model of the machine they think they bought. Like any hobby, there are some real jerks who specialize in coin operated machines and sell these fake machines, passing them off as originals, or just letting the buyer assume that they are.
REMANUFACTURED = REPRODUCTION. \"Remanufactured\" slot machines have been around for decades. It is just a rather silly way to describe how the castings have been reproduced.
COMPOSITE machines (some call them FrankenMachines) are slots that are made up out of parts from different machines. They may be made up of all vintage parts or they may include some reproduction parts. They are frequently sold as original. They did NOT originally come from the manufacturer that way, but were later put together; perhaps by an operator who had broken machines and wanted to keep one in operation, or, more likely, by a current-day hobbyist who has the parts to make a working machine, but not the right parts to restore it correctly (or just doesn\'t care what he cobbles together). Composite machines have little or no antique value or collector interest; they are more of a novelty item.
FANTASY machines are slots that were never made by slot machine manufacturers but are built from old machines to look cool in someone\'s man cave.
Custom paint jobs and modified castings often turn a decent machine into a FANTASY machine.
The Buckley Hole in One Golfer and Bonanza Casinoare examples of a fantasy machine; it takes an original machine and adds parts that it originally never had. In the case of the Hole-in-One; golf reel strips, award card and bling. Buckley never made this machine. All the add-ons are a conversion kit from the 1980s.
An ethical seller will indicate a non-original machine by stating which parts have been replaced or state that a machine is a reproduction or \"remanufactured.\"
IF THE MACHINE YOU ARE VIEWING LOOKS NICE AND SHINY, BUT THE SELLER CANNOT KNOWLEDGEABLY, WITHOUT BEING VAGUE, ANSWER QUESTIONS SUCH AS \"WHAT IS AND ISN\'T REPLACED\" or \"WHAT IS AND ISN\'T ORIGINAL\", YOU ARE BETTER OFF TO STAY AWAY. THERE ARE PLENTY OF \"REAL\" ORIGINAL MACHINES AVAILABLE.
IN OTHER WORDS... IF THE SELLER CAN\'T HONESTLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS... HOW CAN YOU JUSTIFY GIVING HIM YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY?
If all you want is a slot machine that looks vintage and plays well to put in your rec room rather than investing in an actual antique machine; perhaps a reproduction is right for you, but make sure you are not paying a high price as if it were original.
For tips on identifying fake machines, go to CoinOpCollectorForum.com(I am not associated with this forum in any way.)
Also search You Tube for Mills War Eagle slot machine.
There is an excellent documentary on YouTube concerning an unsuspecting buyer who bought a reproduction slot machine off the internet.
To view the 4 minute video,search YouTube for \"buys reproduction slot machine internet.\"
The photo in this listing is a 10 cent Diamond Front that I will sell for local pick-up only.
So, if you offer on this sale, that is what you are buying and you must pick it up; no shipping.
Description:
Barn-fresh as-found condition;
All original, including back door.
NO cash box (unusual wood replacement cash box, not pictured, is included).
Good working condition except payouts are not always correct.
No lock; Escalator glass cracked; metal trim piece around jackpot window broken (looks like someone tried to break into it).
The rod that should be installed at the top of the coin payout tube is missing. When the tube is full, the rod pushes the top coin off the coin stack into the chute to the jackpot/cash box. It looks like someone has done some work to the coin head to build up a shield to compensate for the missing rod, so coins should just fall forward into the chute. The tube is nearly empty, so I\'ve not tested this and I\'m not going to say that it works.
This machine is heavy; I think the castings are iron, indicating war-time production.
requirednotice:
Due to laws regulating the sale of antique slot machines, I, as the seller, will not sell to from members in the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Tennessee. offers from members residing in any of these states will be cancelled. Buy It Now transactions with buyers residing in these states will be considered void.
This machine is older than 25 years.
