Hi Dave,
I just wanted to say that I think this is a great resource for those of us with an interest in antique slot machines. I've thought about a machine for my den, just because I sometimes have a desire to gamble "a little bit". I also think it would be a good way to stash some money away. What better place than your own "piggy bank".
Because I want to keep the kids from playing the machine, I've considered a 50c machine as the best option. The bank has a ready supply, unlike $1 IKE coins. From what I've seen on your site, most true antiques only existed in 1c, 5c, 10c and occasional 25c. Most of the 25c and 50c machines being repros. I viewed all of your slot images from your bitmap subdirectory and found exactly one 50c machine. Am I looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack? What can I expect to pay for a traditional mechanical from the 30's/40's?
On a different note, I found the COCA web site a bit "standoffish". $33/year to join, and you get 3 issues of ads and such per year? You can't see any of their site unless you are a member, but they do offer you the opportunity to "post" an ad, you just can't see it. I find it odd that they had to increase their dues to cover the development of their web site. I would imagine that you could find a volunteer within the organization that would do it for free. Wth 635 members, there must be one with some HTML experience. I maintain 5 web sites for various organizations and family members (all customized and fully interactive; i.e., not static) and I haven't ever charged a fee to develop them. I've probably spent hundreds of hours designing and testing the sites. Okay, I'm not exactly being truthfull on one web site I maintain. Its for a violin maker friend and we are trading violin making lessons for the development "fee". I do one for my sister for her horse racing handicapping, an alumni site for my high school graduating class, a violin making workshop site, our HOA site and a family web site that I haven't updated in 4 or 5 years. Incidently, our violin making organization produces a MONTHLY newsletter with articles and photos of the previous month's meeting in a slick format that usually contains 12 pages (no advertising) and our yearly dues are $25 (international members pay an extra $5 for postage). Our membership hovers around 200 members. I couldn't imagine what we would do with a yearly budget of approximately $21,000 (635 * $33).
Thanks for all of the great information. I had thought a 50c Mills Golden Nugget would look great in my den, and thanks to you, I won't have a repro. The search continues... At this point though, I don't have the "have to have it" bug, but I am curious about the true cost and likelihood of finding that antique 50c machine.
I appreciated the ACMCA information on the site too. Being in the San Diego area, I remember going to a coin-op show maybe 8 or 9 years ago. I haven't seen any since then. I see that there is a show in Arcadia in October. Perhaps a forum section on upcoming shows/events would be a great resource for us "newbies". Just a thought.
Thanks again.
Kevin