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i have a cast iron mills diamond front with krinkle paint and glitter. It has a serial # of 474285 on the paper tag inside on the case on the left side and stamped into the wood case bottom.the mechanism has a paper tag # of 489531.I'd like to know approx. what date is the machine and the mechanism. did mills use later mechanisms in earlier cases off the assembly line? Is there any affect of value if all the numbers don't match. i'm keeping it and it runs great and is a blast to play with the grand kids to keep them off their damn phones when they visit at least for a little while..I just like history and am curious. Any help is appreciated.

Probably around 1939/40 . The two different serial numbers is no big deal.

Thank you very much for the info. So the mechanism is close to the age of the machine I assume. I've been told and which makes sense if a machine needed repair the slot tech would grab a repaired one off the shelf and slap it in to keep that machine making $. When did mills start making them with cast iron cases and when did they stop? i know the iron was used because aluminum was needed for the war effort.

Which model Diamond Front do you have? Suspect you have the Gold Chrome or the Emerald Chrome versions which came out a little later. Post a photo.

let me get my wife to post a pic as i don't know how. It is a dark mustard yellow brownish color that is krinkle coat paint with some silver glitter in it. .The diamonds are a dark oxblood red. Case is cast iron. Has what looks like an original mills owl water transfer decal on the left side when looking at the front. Has the original same color krinkle paint back w/ instructions lock and key.

When chrome became critical war material, Mills continued to make their Chrome model without using chrome.
Looks like you have an nice unmolested Gold Chrome, introduced in August 1941.

thank you for the reply. were some of the chrome diamond fronts cast iron too? i could see the chrome for rifle bores and the aluminum for aircraft. A gentleman told me on the sight it is a Baker made Mills machine from the early to mid 40's because of the glitter krinkle paint and cast iron case.It has the what looks like original Mills owl water release decal on it. I have no idea and like to learn more about these machines being a auto mechanic my entire life I like mechanical items.The gentleman i got it from told me it was around a 41 42 Mills built machine. also.she still has the original key and lock too. this thing is like an old workhorse it just keeps going. Only had it about 3 mos. and probably rolled about a 800- 1000 quarters thru it between me , the grandkids ,my wife and daughter without a hiccup.Pays and plays without a hitch. got my eye on a mills bursting cherry .25 from the same gent but my wife would divorce me if I brought it home....maybe I will.

Could be a Baker made or revamp; wartime history gets a bit murky on what was being produced; search this forum and you'll find quite a lot of good info/opinions.

Yes; according to one of the experts here, Mills did make a cast iron Chrome (Diamond Front) in late 30s.
A contemporary ad shows the Mills Gold Chrome with glitter paint, but the ad says nothing about cast iron for the castings.
Baker did have their own decal and reel strips, but I can't say that they always used them or any other definitive statement.

thanks for the info. I think the mech isn't born with as the machine is 474285 and the mech is 489531. like a few folks I talked to here says thats not a big deal. I've read somewhere that mills bought back some of their machines from various sources that were baker made with mills dies and refurbished them and put their logo on them after removing the baker logo. I don't know but it looks neat and works great. Finally hit 3 bars after about 2 mos. and those 800- 1k quarters we all played. Any more info is always appreciated. Thanks again.

doubledeuce wrote:thanks for the info. I think the mech isn't born with as the machine is 474285 and the mech is 489531. like a few folks I talked to here says thats not a big deal. I've read somewhere that mills bought back some of their machines from various sources that were baker made with mills dies and refurbished them and put their logo on them after removing the baker logo. I don't know but it looks neat and works great. Finally hit 3 bars after about 2 mos. and those 800- 1k quarters we all played. Any more info is always appreciated. Thanks again.

I believe that hitting your 3 bars is 1 in 8,000 odds on that machine based on the 20 stops per reel. Yes, it takes a lot of coins to finally hit it, although that is only the odds and your mileage may vary.

-Fred-