CoinOpCollectorForum.com

Much appreciate the wealth of info that can be found on this site. Two Watling questions just out of curiosity. My late model Watling Treasury serial L-82xxx has the Watling imprint on base. I have seen this imprint on old Watling shipping crates - is that common for them to have put this on the machine?

And second, just picked up a decent Watling Twin Jackpot on original scissor stand serial 55xxx. Basic model nice in that it appears fully original and "untinkered with". There is a coin detection (or slug detection) mechanism that I have not seen before and I do not fully understand the purpose. It activates a deflection plate to push coins to coin box rather than coin tube. Is this just standard Watling full coin tube feed to cash box? Perhaps I am overlooking the obvious but just seems to be an intricate mechanical device to just deflect coins to cash box. Thanks in advance for any comments on the Watling imprint and this gadget.

Flip

That stamp on the bottom of Watling machines is very common, most but not all have them. It appears on Blue Seals, Treasurys and Rol-A-Tops. That Rube Goldberg device on the back of your Blue Seal is not rare. It appears on a number of Blue Seal Watlings. I had a penny gum vender a short while ago that also had it.

Watlingboy

And what does the Rube Goldberg device do? Thanks for the info!

Flip

I don't have a machine currently that has that on it and I've never paid any attention to it. I can tell you that Watling, like Mills, made two pulls for a nickel Blue Seal. These are pictured in various books. That device is what controls the two pulls feature. There are a couple of additional pieces needed to make it work. Whether it has another function, I don't know. I'll take a look at it next time I get one.

Watlingboy

Well - I can inform you what this "Rube Goldberg" device does. Had just picked this Watling up so first time I had an opportunity to play. And the answer has to do with what Gene on the Just Chatting Watling Blue Seal Twin Jackpot thread was asking. This device deflects every fifth coin into the jackpot chute! Following my advice to Gene, I played the mech out of the case to see exactly how the coins fell into the jackpot feed chute. Voila! Every fifth play, this device pushes up a plate that directs the coin to the jackpots. Neat when you see it work! Can take a picture if you like. Love playing with these classic mechanical wonders.

Flip

Well done flip et al, seems like you've solved it. I was thinking check separation - ie checks to payout tube & jp and coins direct to cash box. Checks were only ever 5c value though weren't they? so wouldn't appear on a penny slot.
I too have recurring problems with my penny Watling Ball Gum Vendor not sending overflow (or 5th) coins to the jp so will pull the mech out when the sun's up and have a tinker.
Seems like a lot of trouble sending every 5th coin to the jp though - I thought they all headed there and the slender little blade thingy inside the chute closes it off when both jps are full and backed up so the coins spill back down to the cash box.
Devilish little contraptions aren't they?
andy.

trade checks came in 1, 5, and 10 cent sizes.
possibly quarter as well, but i have not seen a quarter one.

Thanks Midcoast Vintage,
That does make sense so does the device in question relate to check separation?
Didn't our host Dave recently post about that little flap that diverts coins? Must go back through older threads.
andy.

Hello Andy. The device definitely feeds the jackpot. I was wrong in my original posting when I said that the deflector plate feeds the cash box rather than coin tube. I too was assuming check separator like I have seen routinely on goosenecks. But this contains a cam that turns with each play and the fifth position moves the lever forward raising the deflector plate which directs the coin to the jackpot chute. Pretty ingenious and a little surprising that it is still working as originally made. I had another Watling Twin Jackpot almost identical to this one and it did not have this device. May snap a few pictures to show how it functions. Like you, I thought the feed was first to fill the jackpot until that "full" lever stopped the coins to jackpot. Maybe they had reports of occasional coin tube running low and shorting payout due to all coins to fill jackpot. Whatever, WatlingBoy is right in calling this a Rube Goldberg - what a complicated device just to deflect coins to a chute.

Flip