by Jemmettg » Thu Dec 23, 2021 3:12 pm
Hi. I'm looking at a working Mills Castle Nickel (circa 1936-38). There are only three coins in the jackpot window. I've checked the Web and found info on how the jackpot works and that there's a reserve jackpot that drops down on the next pull following a payout. It looks like nickels populate these hoppers from played coins. When I was viewing the machine, nickels were moving along the escalator, there were payouts, and I could hear some coins dropping somewhere. But I can also say as coins were played, the number of coins in the jackpot window were not increasing. My question is, what is the order that the jackpots fill on an empty machine? Does the reserve fill, then the main; or should coins be dropping in for every play? Does the main jackpot have to be filled manually, etc.? As you can guess, I'm trying to verify the working condition, and I'm not sure what feedback to give to the owner (who can't seem to remember when it was last played, before I looked at it) or what to look for if/when additional coins are played. Any advise greatly appreciated.