For 20 years, Dick Bueschel published a series of articles in The Coin Slot/Coin-op Classics magazines listing slot machine serial numbers. It was amazing how much information he was able to glean from the numbers provided to him by collectors. In the late 80s, collector Ed Zimmerman started compiling the numbers into a master list. After Dick passed away and the end of the magazine articles, input to the list tapered off and, by 2000, it had fallen by the wayside. COCA missed an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the hobby by not picking up and continuing the serial number list. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen with the Trade Stimulator files and all the hard work Bill has put into that.
Ed indicates that since 2000, there has been virtually no interest in the list, but he has agreed to allow it to be freely distributed provided it is not used for profit. It was almost lost forever, but we are indebted to Ed for saving it and making it available to us today.
Concerning the list:
Ed has had it converted into a modern version of Excel (.xlsx).
Not all the serials that appeared in the articles made it into the master list: although there are 87 pages of Mills numbers, there is less than 1 page of Jennings numbers (not counting the Royal Family, which is listed separately).
There are very few dates, and most of them are year only; clearly, as collectors sent in serials, they did not check/include dates on inspection stickers inside the machine (when submitting serials to the Registry, be sure to INCLUDE dates for the machine, if available, but do NOT guess or estimate dates).
The list does not include the text of the articles (and Dick’s insights) which accompanied the number listing.
Dave has a copy of the list and plans to eventually incorporate it into the registry.
In the meantime, if you would like a copy of the master list, send me a PM with your email address and stating that it is for personal use only and will not be sold or otherwise used for profit. I will send you a ZIP file; inside are 15 Excel files by machine manufacturer.