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No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 4:17 pm
by Garyis2000@aol.com
Like to sell and need info.
I live in Las Vegas
No lock
This has things on it I've never seen before.
Can you help explain some of these things.

Cover on coin tray

Sheet metal covering inside reels

Wired bell hooked up where coin box should be

CRISS CROSS plaque on front

Type of machine, year...

This machine worked last month but now it may be jammed
image.jpg

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 5:35 pm
by Midcoast Vintage
the cover over the coin tyray is due to the fact that this is / was a casino machine, and paid out in the base it sat on.
there is more than likely a large hole in the bottom of your machine.
the criss cross name bar means is pays out on certain combinations similar to the jennings tic tac toe features... three bars in a diagonal pattern pays as well as in a straight line.
the bell serves 2 functions. 1) to call the jackpot girl. jackpots were hand paid as nevada law (nevada gaming commission) state that (this may not be verbatim, but... ) jackpot amounts to be paid must be known / shown in advance, not random. subsequently, a mechanical fill jackpot such as the older mechanical machines had, could not give a guaranteed amount ( unless it was a handload jackpot machine).
2) the second function the bell serves is when other players hear the bell, they get excited and think... ("OH, BOY! THEY JUST GOT A JACKPOT... I'M NEXT!"...) , and they start pouring coins in as they can to chase that dream.
he tin shield over the reels is to prevent some crafty cheat from sneaking in through the back with a wire to try and stop the reels in a winning position.
this machine is listed on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-1940s- ... 5d508f2ca2

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:29 pm
by Garyis2000
Hi and thanks for the very detailed reply. As you suspected there is a larger and smaller hole on the bottom.

Yes, that's me on eBay that listed this.

Why haven't I seen any other of these machines with all this stuff on it like the tin shield, bells etc? Is the value greatly reduced because of all those differences?

So there is no coin tray under that plate?

Do you have an idea of what year and exact model this is?

Thanks to all for sharing your expertise.

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 9:34 pm
by Midcoast Vintage
hi,
you're welcome.
the shield and the bell do not devalue your machine.
90% of us would take that junk off, but, no need to... unless you want to put a cash box in... it goes where the bell is.
the bell could possibly be moved elswhere, provided it does not interfere with the mechanics of the machine.
there is no coin tray behind that plate.
you will also need a trim piece that goes around the front of the coin tray.
also, a cash box, and, a different coin overflow.
these parts should be readily available at one of the slot shops in vegas, or get ahold of the parts guy at krahl's klassic parts.
there are plenty of high tops out there with the criss cross option. you don't see them every day, but they are around. and... they are not rare.
if you don't find the parts in vegas, check back here, and we'll get you the info for krahl's parts supply.
good luck.
hope this has helped you.

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 10:02 pm
by Garyis2000
Thanks again.

Lastly, exact name and year of this machine (ie: Mills, Crisscross, jewel, etc) ?
Maybe, wholesale value?

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:24 am
by nvmos2
Gary;

I would say you have a Mills Jewel Baker Revamp Criss Cross Bell.

Buckley came out with their Criss Cross Belle in 1947; "never before has there been a bell like Criss Cross."
Other makers/re-vampers soon copied it.

As Midcoast points out, the Criss Cross feature may be found in any variety of High Top cabinets.
Revampers also put it into the Mills half-top cabinets as well.
Of course, other makers had their own versions of the feature.

You will note that your award plate indicates a Baker revamp, but gives no indication of the Criss Cross feature.

See flebay item number 321538610185;
it is a 25 cent Mills 21 Bell style cabinet made as a Criss Cross (or at least what is left of it).
You will note that it has a proper award plate and lower award card (in the JP window) for the Criss Cross feature.

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 6:26 pm
by MONTI
I agree with the previous comments here, some good information, only one comment to make and it is a sad one, Tom Krahl owner of Krahl's Classics has recently passed away, a little over a month ago but last I heard his guy Ralph is still selling parts in stock.
Definitely a sad time as Tom had just about every part a slot restorer could ask for.
I enjoyed calling him and talking about the "Old Days", he will be missed!
My fellow restorer friends and I have been getting parts from him for almost forty years.
My best to his wife and hopefully they will continue the business!
Ciao, my friend,
Monti

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 7:09 pm
by gamblingman
Spent some time talking with Ralph and Mary. Unfortunately they are just selling off what they have and are going to close up shop at some point.

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 7:53 pm
by MONTI
gamblingman wrote:Spent some time talking with Ralph and Mary. Unfortunately they are just selling off what they have and are going to close up shop at some point.


I suppose I could give Ralph a call and ask him but did they give you any idea who they will be selling to as the last time I talked to Tom, probably a month before he passed he was telling me that he had a very full warehouse of parts as quite a while back he had also bought out Ancient Slots parts out of Las Vegas, infact he said he had boxes full of their catalogs which were pretty decent catalogs with great parts break downs for all the machines!
I would hate to see that parts stream dry up or get into the hands of somebody who really jacked the prices up as Tom was always very reasonable!
I can think of a few possible buyers but I won't mention any names on an open forum out of respect to them!

Re: No clue on what to sell this Mills Hightop

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 8:15 pm
by gamblingman
You know, I don't think they really have a buyer at this point, or at least they didn't mention it to me. They said they were just going to sell out as much of the stock as they could and then Mary was eventually going to be moving back to her hometown in WI. She told me that "most people have been great" since Tom passed, but she also said there have been a few that have tried to take advantage of her, and the fact Tom did a lot of business with a handshake. I won't go into details, but I suspect a couple of folks see the potential for the stock and have tried to get their hands on it.