Collectibles-General (Antiques)/Mills Slot Machine

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Expert: - 2/6/2010


Question

Mills Slot Machine
I have a 5 cent Mills high top slot machine that I am trying to get more information on and an approximate value. The machine has a printed picture of a buffalo on front that I am unsure if this is original to the machine. I have enclosed a picture.
Thanks
Chuck

Answer

Mills 1949 high top re
Hi Chick,

Nice Mills high top, The lower casting is a revamp done my who knows who or which casino or road house. In the late 50's early 60's some Casinos wanted to update the look for there older machines. Maybe adding a Central jackpot or other prize. So they took to revamping any older high tops they had, with new lower castings and adding the large award card where your Buffalo is pictured. Since you do have a separate award card plate on yours, it could be possible that a casino could of added this photo, I couldn't tell you for sure. See the photo attached, this is a revamped Mills High top, with a revamped lower casting and the new Casino handle. This is a little different mills high top then yours, maybe a Little earlier model, as yours is or was revamped from a Mills 1949 model like the Blue Bell model, high top. Also notice on the pictured model there is no pay off coin tray. This machine still payed out, but they drilled a large hole through the bottom of the inside of the machine so the coins would fall through to a large metal pan mounted in the slot stand, called a drop bucket stand, so the coins would fall a grater distance and land in this light tin pan that was mounted in a stand, this made it like a speaker box, when the coins hit the pan, making a ton of noise and attracting all the customers. So, in this type of revamp they blanked off the payout tray with a special made aluminum casting or trim part. Yours does have the payout tray still, and that is a good thing for you, as if it didn't you would need a special drop bucket stand to put your machine on for the payouts. Looking at your machine I see the center button up on the top casting above the reels, someone has changed this and added what looks like a foot ball helmet, it should be a casted button with the Mills Owl on it. I have a photo of what you machine looked like before it was revamped if you would like it, I can only post one photo here so you would have to write me at Jackpot7@q.com if you want me to scan it and attach it to your email and send it back to you. Value for yours is about the same or less then most all high tops, around 800.00 to 1,200.00. Yours being worth a little less as in doing these revamps, they removed the automatic Jackpots from the machines and added this new front. So, your machine would still payout the 20 coins for a jackpot but it doesn't have a automatic jackpot to dump along with the 20 coin payout from the coin slides, you got the big prize instead, whatever they wanted that to be. Chuck, I hope you enjoyed all the information and photo. If you have another question please feel free to ask anytime.

Thank You
Sincerely
Rodger Knutson
http://www.coinslots.com  

Rodger Knutson

Expertise

I am an expert on old coin operated machines, slot machines, trade stimulator's, jukeboxes, old arcade machines, etc. I have been identifying these for people who respond to my web site listed below, for a few years now. In almost all cases I am able to tell them about their old coin operated machines, the year, the value, and other general information about their machines. I do not know much about soda vending machines, coin banks, or scales, but I will try to help you with these if I can. Please email photo's to: jackpot7@ix.netcom.com My web site is at: http://www.coinslots.com

Experience

I bought my first slot machine, a .50 Cent Mills Black Cherry in 1969 and have been hooked from that time, I still have that Slot machine! Before that I found a open barrel full of old scraped jukebox wall boxes behind a restaurant, I wanted them all but never took a one of them. Anything that took a coin drove me nuts!

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