Mills Vest Pocket Slot Machine - Trade Stimulator
© Brooke Clarke 2017Poor Packaging
Description
Photos
Machine No. 1
Machine No. 1 Payout
Machine No. 2
Patents
Related
References
Links
Background
I've had an interest in old slot machines for some time and recently have been playing with machines related to coins (see Related below).
This slot machine is part of a group called Trade Stimulators (Wiki).
Poor Packaging
The box arrived with "FRAGILE GLASS" stickers which is a clue that the packer did not know what he was doing. But the larger problem was the the slot machine was loose in the box, i.e. when the box was shaken you could feel the slot machine moving inside. After opening the machine there was a 6-32x1/4" Philips head screw on my desk. So far I have not found where it should be! This is a problem.
Description
The idea of a trade simulator was to improve profits using what amounted to a slot machine, but it was camouflaged or paid out some product so could be called a vending machine. This was mainly during prohibition (Wiki) 1920 to 1933.
The patent numbers on the coin slide (that has a history of jamming) are assigned to Monarch Tool & Mfg Company so either Monarch made the coin slide or Mills made it under license.
Photos
Machine No. 1
Fig 1 Shipping Box with dent
Fig 2 Inadequate packing
Fig 3 Payout for 3 Bells should be 18, not the 3 nickles that came out. Fig 4 Three Bells rigged jackpot
Note payout rod all the way to the left.
Fig 5 Patents on face plate and slide:
U.S. Pat. No.
1908380 MAY 9-1933
1908752 May 16-1933
Fig 6 Drive pals move up then pull down to get wheels spinning.
Fig 7 The more to the left the payout rod moves
the higher the jackpot. Note that the left to right order
of the wheels is very important.
Fig 8 Payout Nickel holding tube and clockwork
Fig 9 Wheel stopping bars and clockwork gears
Back view.
Fig 10 "D3" spring was missing.
Rreplaced with spring from EnerGel ballpoint after cutting down and bending ends. First try did not work, but after reversing end for end it's now working fine.
Fig 20 Rear Cover
The Operating Lever (26) has broken off.
It's a sheet metal part that moves near the clockwork fan
to slow down the mechanism and then moves away. You can see a small part of it in Fig 9 and this one
Fig 21 Operating Lever (26) on eBay Vest Pocket (outlined in gray)
Note fan has blades flattened, compare to Fg 8, 9 & 20.
Fig 22 Operating Lever (26) on Machine No. 2 from eBay
Payout Machine No. 1
The wheel order is important.
3
OK
Plum Cherry Cherry
Orange Cherry Cherry
Bell-Fruit Cherry Cherry
5
Probably OK
Lemon Cherry Cherry
Lemon Cherry Cherry
Bell-Fruit Cherry Cherry
(an anomaly - maybe before enough plays to fill nickel stack?)
10
OK
Bell-Fruit Orange Orange
14
OK
Plum Plum Plum
18
N.G.
Bell-Fruit Lemon Lemon
Jackpot
What should Happen?
Bell-Fruit Bell-Fruit Bell-Fruit
Machine No. 2
Fig 1 very bad packaging
I knew it was bad packaging since the machine had a lot of movement in the box.
Fig 2 foam peanuts are NOT suitable for heavy object.
Many fell out
you see all that survived, some completely flattened.
Fig 3
Fig 4 Broken arm on lock, so always unlocked.
Fig 5 Right-rear showing aerodynamic brake
Fig 6 Right showing aerodynamic brake
Fig 7 Left showing coin box and counter
Fig 8 Top
Fig 9 starting to remove coin slide
Fig 10 Payout Counter
see patent 2057651
Fig 11 Removing parts trying to remove coin slide.
Fig 12 Part with magnet shown upside down
Note abnormal wear near "U" of magnet.
The mechanism in the upper right is the coin pusher.
It's activated each time the coin slide is cycled,
and pushes the top nickel out of the payout tube,
if the tube is full.
Fig 13 The Pawl seemed to be trapped and would not allow the coin slide to return.
After removing the screw holding the eccentric sleeve the slide will function, without
any coin installed in this state of disassembly. Note aerodynamic brake.
Fig 14 Close up of the Pawl.
Fig 15 Coin Slide removed
Note flat head screw hidden behind coin chute.
When Nickel installed can push back, coin falls out,
and can pull forward.
Fig 16 The same patents are engraved as on Machine 1:
U.S. Pat. No.
1908380 MAY 9-1933
1908752 May 16-1933
Fig 17 Frame after removing coin slide.
Fig 18 Payout counter shows number of payouts,
NOT the amount of the payouts. A 3 nickel payout is one
count and an 18 nickel payout is one payout.
Only the fast wheel in installed. The other wheels
have been removed, probably to fix another slot.
Veeder patented his counter in 1899, so that patent was
expired by 1933, so this counter is based on that idea.
Maybe why I haven't found a patent for it?
Patent 1908752 with horseshoe magnet colored red.
Patents
Vest Pocket Patents
Two of these are numbers from the coin slide and the others are Mills Novelty Co. 3-wheel slot patents.
783794 John L. Miller, Coin-Controlled Vending Machine, Feb 28, 1905, 194/282; 221/196 - vend cigars from the original box (showing tax stamp)
1697537 Coin-controlled machine, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Jan 1, 1929, 221/124, 273/143.00R, 194/300, 312/49, 221/277, 221/131, 221/155 - 3-wheel slot machine
1677647 Safety-catch device, Mills Fred L, Mills Novelty Co, Jul 17, 1928, 221/13, 221/152, 453/38, 221/206, 273/143.00R, 221/264, 221/270 - for above 3-wheel slot machine
1767602 Coin-controlled vending machine, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Jun 24, 1930, 273/143.00R - 3-wheel slot machine
1854479 Coin-operated machine, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Apr 19, 1932, 273/143.00R, 194/290 - 3-wheel slot machine
1908380 Coin slide, Walter A Tratsch, Monarch Tool & Mfg Company, May 9, 1933, 194/291 -
1908752 Coin controlled device, Louis M Hall, Monarch Tool & Mfg Company, Walter A Tratsch, May 16, 1933, 94/291 -
Mills Novelty Co.
Most of these are for player pianos or player violions or vending machines.
672665 Coin-controlled electrotherapeutic machine, Winfield S Bosley, Mills Novelty Co, Apr 23, 1901, 194/301 - arcade shocking game
807871 Electric self-playing violin, Henry K Sandell, Mills Novelty Co, Dec 19, 1905, 84/11 -
808311 Sheet-perforating machine, Henry K Sandell, Mills Novelty Co, Dec 26, 1905, 234/82; 234/109; 83/587 -
856604 Electric self-playing violin, Henry K Sandell, Mills Novelty Co, Jun 11, 1907, 84/11 -
1045444 Electric piano, Henry K Sandell, Mills Novelty Co, Nov 26, 1912, 84/23; 84/14 - Player Piano would be a better title
1028495
1031292
1036152
1068935
1085943
1094819
1155077 Coin-operated weighing-scale Doctor type with coin mechanism
1148719
1190934 Coin-controlled mechanism, Herbert S Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Jul 11, 1916, 194/290 - perfume-vending machine
1257623
1435614
1443584
1441702
1425533
1603871
1579791
1482620
1603797
1526007
1586259
1603872
1586260
1692465
1586257
1580682 - for player pianos
1697537 Coin-controlled machine, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Jan 1, 1929, 221/124, 273/143.00R, 194/300, 312/49, 221/277, 221/131, 221/155 - 3-wheel slot machine w/Handle, 7 drawing sheets, "vending machine"
1741373
1665753 -music sheet feeding,
1786466 Coin depository, Walker Harry, Mills Novelty Co, Dec 30, 1930, 194/332, 194/344 - for coin-op player pianos - accepts Nickles, Dimes and Quarters.
1677647 Safety-catch device, Mills Fred L, Mills Novelty Co, Jul 17, 1928, 221/13, 221/152, 453/38, 221/206, 273/143.00R, 221/264, 221/270 - for above 3-wheel slot machine
1621125
1621127
1706896 Coin-controlled machine, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Mar 26, 1929, 194/295, 194/345, 194/332, 273/143.00R - slot w/Handle, 7 drawings, dispenses premium coupons
1693403 Wrapping machine, Bruno Radtke, Mills Novelty Co, Nov 27, 1928, 53/55, 53/174, 53/147, 53/228, 53/285 - for coins
1702791 Weighing scale, Mortimer B Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Feb 19, 1929, 177/218 - for weighing people at carnivals
1739799
1727127
1767602 Coin-controlled vending machine, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Jun 24, 1930, 273/143.00R - 3-wheel slot machine
1700541 Combined vending machine and game, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Jan 29, 1929, 221/200, 221/298, 221/199, 221/268 - catch steel ball falling through maze of pins
1709189
1786441
1772632
1751248
1750325
1854479 Coin-operated machine, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Apr 19, 1932, 273/143.00R, 194/290 - 3-wheel slot machine
1752750
1889786 Automatic cut-off switch - for jukebox
1864143 Selector mechanism - for jukebox
1843140
Patent numbers appear on coin slide of Vest Pocket
1908380 Coin slide, Walter A Tratsch, Monarch Tool & Mfg Company, May 9, 1933, 194/291 -
1908752 Coin controlled device, Louis M Hall, Monarch Tool & Mfg Company, Walter A Tratsch, May 16, 1933, 94/291 -
1912992 Game apparatus, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Jun 6, 1933, 194/295, 273/244.1 - provision for free play - 17 drawings, Baseball game
1924618 Coin slide, Mills Fred L, Mills Novelty Co, Aug 29, 1933, 194/238 - two coins at same time
1968500 Commodity vending machine
1847308 Television lamp, Henry K Sandell, Mar 1, 1932, 313/621, 313/240, 313/325, 313/632, 313/326, 313/252 - light source
1924619
2004418
1981467
1869616 Coin mechanism, Radtke Bruno, Mills Novelty Co, Aug 2, 1932, 194/321 - insert coin and turn knob
1935982 Coin control mechanism for electrically operated machines, -
1968507
1981462 Ball agitating device for pinball games, Bert E Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Nov 20, 1934, 273/121.00E - pinball
2004446
2038802
2057651 Register device for game apparatus, Fred L Mills, Mills Novelty Co, Oct 13, 1936, 194/291, 273/121.00R -
2064843
2065162
2099344 Selective vending machine
2095201
2099657
2106775
2117119
2119897
2142734
2160751 Coin selector, Bert E Mills, Mills Novelty Co, May 30, 1939, 194/327 - separates US nickels from slugs using a "bouncing block"
2160760
2161769
2208515 Electric token delivery device, Mills Bert E, Mills Novelty Co, Jul 16, 1940, 221/206, 453/49, 235/7.00A - coin dispensing for change making or payouts
2218015
2237302
2250086
2252979
2296883
2297972
2308532
2309132
2320981
2408438
2406392 Apparatus for applying rotating bands to projectile shells, Swen H R Ericson, Jr Anthony Minarik, Mills Novelty Co, Aug 27, 1946 - W.W.II
Related
Money, Kwik Koin, Downey-Johnson Model 20-PH Johnson Fare Box Co Manual Coin Counter, Johnson Coin Changer
References
Slot Machines: A pictorial history of the first 100 years, Marshall Fey, 1991 -
Many kinds and manufacturers illustrated.
The Coin Slot, No. 13, Guide to the Mills Vest Pocket, Richard M. Bueschel, 1980
Missing all the information dealing with the most common problem "Jamming"
MILLS VEST POCKET Models Slot Machine Operators Manual
The last page is Figure-9 (rear view) and the following 2 pages may address "jams".
MILLS SERVICE & PARTS MANUEL ANTIQUE SLOT MACHINE MINT 22 Pages - eBay 202031504244 -
Links
Bernie "Mr. Slot" Berten - Springs - eBay items -
http://theantiquegambler.com/ - place holder, no content
Mead Publishing Co. - eBay - Amazon -
PRC68, Alphanumeric Index of Web pages, Contact, Products for Sale
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