Unusual Mills Castle Front

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Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby oldtimeslots.com » Tue Feb 11, 2014 11:23 am

I recently purchased an unusual Mills Castle Front serial # V433132 stamped in the upper casting and #433132 on the inside tag. This machine is very different as the lower Castle casting has no jackpot, casting part # MLB 5948. This is a side vending machine with future pay bonnet and the award card has a picture of PIONEER mints and at the top says TYPE "12" Confections Vender. The machine is all original, been sitting in the humid Florida air so the paint is about 95% gone and the castings have that powdery look to them. There is enough of the original paint to restore and paint the original colors in which this Castle Front was predominantly dark red.
I am curious if any one has ever seen this model ? or knows anything about it ?
Thanks,
Bill
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front 2 smaller.jpg
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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby kentdun » Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:04 pm

That is a cool machine. Does it have the Bell-fruit (jackpot) symbols on the reel strips? Does it payout? Coins or tokens?
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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby oldtimeslots.com » Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:22 pm

Yes it has the original Mills SP strips dated 10-6-38. It is a nickel machine but plays with trade checks, the check seperator toggle on the escalator is gone but I will put one back on to divert the nickels too the cash box and checks to the pay tube.
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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby nvmos2 » Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:46 pm

WOW; this really is a fantastic find!

A Red Front Future Play with Side Vender but no Jack Pot!
I know there are guys here who have seen a lot more machines than me, but I have never seen a Castle Front with no jack pot.
Some of our members here may not even realize that the Castle Front came in anything but blue.

I’m thinking it was a special order:
The Red Front “started out as a special order in 1936, and was a standard model by 1937.” (Lemons, Cherries and Bell Fruit Gum, p111)

The standard model would have had the jack pot and gold award feature;
good thing yours does not; it would have ruined that pure lower Castle Front casting!

Can you post a close up of the specialized award card?
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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby watlingboy » Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:12 pm

Finally, a legit future pay machine shows up. Not a machine which has just had the deferred pay box stuck on the back bonnet. If you read the Mills ad in Bueschel's book it states that the machine has no award card. This is the same for the Watlings with deferred pay. Congrats!

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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby oldtimeslots.com » Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:14 pm

I have not yet removed the award card nor peeld away at the old protective plastic that has gotten brittle and yellowed that covers the award card so here is the picture so far as it sits.
Unfortuantely when I received the machine yesterday it was damaged in transit, the future pay front cast piece with instructions was snapped off so I am leaving the machine as I got it until we get through the claims process.
here are two pictures.
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broken bonnet.jpg
awards card.jpg
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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby oldtimeslots.com » Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:41 pm

Thank you Watlingboy for your insight!
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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby Dave » Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:53 pm

This is the 2nd example that I have seen with a Castle Front with deferred pay and no jackpot.

This machine actually makes sense. On most of the Mills machines that have deferred pay the deferred pay works until you his a jackpot.

There is no trap door preventing the jackpot coins from dumping. Therefore the deferred pay doesn't work and would not be a valid dodge around the law.

Looks like Mills got rid of this problem be getting rid of the jackpot.

However, the gold award will still dump and not be deferred. I would guess the logic in this is that the gold award token is not a coin therefore the machine was not dispensing money.

That might also explain why there is no award card.

Congratulations on your find.

Dave
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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby Dave » Tue Feb 11, 2014 2:03 pm

Here is a photo of the other one that I have seen.

cf.jpg
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Re: Unusual Mills Castle Front

Postby Dave » Tue Feb 11, 2014 2:04 pm

I just noticed, neither machine have the gold award feature. So, my comment about the gold award does not apply. :oops:
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