Three virgin Mills slot machines

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Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby oldslotman » Tue Jun 18, 2013 9:57 pm

I just bought three Mills slot machine which I believe have never been played. No coins in the machines and all the paper work was in the cash boxes. They were found in a barn and show some damage from the elements mostly some surface rust. Paint is still very good but the wood is very dry but still in good shape. Some signs of mold but not to bad. My plan is to clean the machine as best I can and the get the mechanism working since they are not working after setting for over 50 years. I am not going to put any coins in the machines because I want them to remain virgin at this time. Thanks to Don at Nations Attic for the find.
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Last edited by oldslotman on Sun Jul 07, 2013 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby nvmos2 » Wed Jun 19, 2013 4:22 am

Wow!! What a find!!!

A matching unused 5 - 10 - 25 cent set put away together seems really strange.
It's as if somebody had the foresight to think "someday 70 years from now,
there will actually be people collecting these things and this will make a really nice set."
Too bad we probably will never know how they got in the barn.
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby oldslotman » Wed Jun 19, 2013 6:34 am

nvmos2 wrote:Wow!! What a find!!!

A matching unused 5 - 10 - 25 cent set put away together seems really strange.
It's as if somebody had the foresight to think "someday 70 years from now,
there will actually be people collecting these things and this will make a really nice set."
Too bad we probably will never know how they got in the barn.

The story on the machines is that they were owned by a club, something like the Elks Club, and they needed to get them out of the club, most likely for legal reasons, and one of the members took them and hid them in his barn where they stayed for over 50 years. I guess they were on the second story of the barn. It looks like the small animals may have been using the coin trays for a nest as there are some animal droppings. I believe that if someone was thinking in the future, they would have taken a lot better care of these and stored them in a better place.
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby altort » Wed Jun 19, 2013 6:50 pm

Very interesting story and surely a great find, a thorough cleaning is all that I would do.
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby fast_in_muskoka » Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:21 pm

what a kool find !
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby oldslotman » Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:36 pm

I think I'm going have to at least put something on the wood since it is so dried out and has mold stains on it. Anyone have any ideas. I'm thinking maybe some bleach in water to get the mold out any maybe some type of finish to preserve the wood. The mills stickers on the side are gone or just little pieces left do the wood being so dry and finish flaking off.
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby Midcoast Vintage » Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:50 pm

i would suggest OLD ENGLISH LEMON OIL.
available at most grocery stores in the furniture polish section.
also, a good thing to use to clean paper or metal reel strips, and, paper reward cards... NOXEMA SKIN CREAM.
non abrasive, removes grime, oil, dirt, and SOME discoloration, and leave a clean, non-greasy protective coating.
i have used both of these products for years, and brought back a lot of paper, and wood, with out having to replace or refinish.
when using the noxema, regular paper towels work fine.
good luck on those machines.
nice find.
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby altort » Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:44 pm

I would not use water as it might raise the grain of the wood, I would try HOWARDS RESTOR-A-FINISH you can find them at http://www.howardproducts.com great product, easy to use, cleans and restores the finish on the wood and it comes in different shades to match most finishes.
Midcoast vintage I am going to have to try the Noxeme tip, I have several old tin strips that I just cant get clean, I am afraid that scrubbing to hard will remove the color, will definitely try.
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby rosstfr » Wed Jun 19, 2013 10:36 pm

Look forward to testing the Noxema / Noxzema? tip. I have a machine with original tin reel strips that are intact but dirty (discolored?) - no rust. I tried rubbing alcohol with little success. Thanks for this tip!
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Re: Three virgin Mills slot machines

Postby oldslotman » Sun Jul 07, 2013 7:36 pm

Cleaning and repair has started. Mold and rust the biggest problems. Mold on wood, reel strips and even the paint. Had to repaint and replace reel strips. Got most of the woods stains from the mold out but some just to deep. I guess they will just be part of the history of the machines stored in the barn.
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