by nvmos2 » Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:16 am
No gumballs;
the Spin-It is a peanut vender; there were petrified peanuts in it when found (actually, they are still in it to this day).
the Mercury is a token dispenser (no gum balls). There were no tokens in it, but the mech is complete and working.
So for a penny, the customer got a horse race, some peanuts, and a chance to win cigarettes (or something else in trade). That's a lot for one cent!
I'm not a fan of mods either, espec when done by a "collector" or after the machine was no longer used. But in this case, I think you are right; the mod was done by an operator to revitalize a location that had gone cold. Since they are two fairly common machines, I think they are more interesting as is rather than trying to separate and restore them. Apparently it wasn't enough to save the whole store; it was one of those places put out of business when the interstate bypassed the town; Death by Interstate.