Once gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931, slot machines became an ultimate money-making method. Most collectors appreciate good-looking, small Mills Bell models and gorgeous Jennings streamlined wood floor machines produced during that decade. However, slot machine sales skyrocketed during the Great Depression in the 1920s and the 1930s. found a way to get out coins from the device. The first true jackpot was introduced in 1916 when the Mills Novelty Co. The most popular vintage and antique slot machinesĥ-cent Watling Treasury 25-cent Watling Coin Front Mills Bursting Cherry 5-cent Mills Roman Head Mills Diamond Front Super Deluxe Club Chief Jennings 5-cent Mills Black Cherry 10-cent Mills Blue Bell 10-cent Harrah’s Club Pace Four Reel Mills Hi-TopĪs soon as California banned slot machines in 1911, manufacturers readjusted them and started producing legal gum vending machines. Unlike the first models that showed cards, these new machines contained fruit, which has survived until modern times.

Mills, Caille, Illinois, Clawson, and Watling from the East.

Local manufacturers Royal Novelty, Reliance Novelty, Schultze.

Unfortunately, only four of a hundred made pieces survived, while others were destroyed in 1906 during earthquake and fire.īy 1909, many manufacturers improved the original design to find a way to circumvent the bans in many states. The Liberty Bell, perfected in 1899, allowed automatic cash payouts and was considered the first true slot machine. Then, Charles Fey from San Franciscan designed the new version of Horseshoes, while the next step was the legendary 4-11-44 game appearing on the market in 1895. Gustav Schultze created the first nickel slot Horseshoes in San Francisco in 1893. However, they worked the same way as the first machines, and people got drinks or cigars for won prizes. The first slot machine reminding modern models appeared in Brooklyn in 1891. Guests in saloons and bars used these novelty devices to bet and then exchanged won nickels for drinks and cigars. The first gambling machines featuring racing toy horses appeared in 1885. The term SLOT MACHINE came from putting a nickel into the coin slot and was initially referred to as standard vending machines produced in the 1880s. The Law about Owning an Antique Slot Machine.Ways to Estimate Antique Slot Machine Value.

Mills 25 cent slot machine value