- Watkins Rol A Top Slot Machines 1 Dollar Models 2017
- Watkins Rol A Top Slot Machines 1 Dollar Models List
Antique 5 Cent Watling Roll A Top Slot Machine - No Reserve Up for your consideration is a 5 cent watling roll a top slot machine, coin front model circa 1930s. Original back door lock and cash box. Watling Rol-A-Top Coin Front (Gold Plated) 1935 Slot Machine 10c. Size: 26″ tall x 15″ x 15 1/2″ base. Due to laws regulating the sale of antique slot machines we will not sell to anyone in the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Watkins Rol A Top Slot Machines 1 Dollar Models 2017
An authentic slot machine is a big investment (well over $1,000) to most people. These vintage machines are great conversation pieces as well as a great part of our history. Here are some tips so you don’t get burned!
Take note. The following models of slot machines have been reproduced.
Mills War Eagle, Mills Golden Nugget, Mills Castle Front, Mills Bursting Cherry (AKA Brown Front), Mills Wolf Head (AKA Lion Head), Mills Hightop, Watling Treasury and Watling Rol-A-Top.
For Starters Simply Look At The Machine
Take a look at the castings, the wood base & sides, and the mechanism. If they all look brand new then they probably are. Look at where the door fits into the wood base. Does it have nice sharp edges? If so, then it is probably new. Look at the mechanism, is it super clean? If so, then it is probably brand new.
Most people concentrate on the outside of the machine when they restore it. They will only bead blast the mechanism if it is rusty. In any case, the cabinet, even if it has been restored, should show signs of its age.
Serial Numbers
Reproductions do NOT have serial numbers stamped in the castings. If you are thinking about buying a Mills machine, for example, ask the seller for the serial number. This is probably the easiest way to determine if the machine is legitimate or not.
More on Mills Machines
Most reproductionMills machines are quarter denomination. In reality, very few of these machines that were made in the 30’s were quarter machines. Most of them were nickel.
Another warning sign is the payout. If the machine pays on a single cherry, then there is a good chance the machine is a reproduction. However, legitimate machines that were made in the 30s required two cherries before they paid out.
Another warning sign is the back door. If it is totally smooth and painted glossy black, then it is a reproduction back door. Original back doors are not totally smooth. They are made of heavy gauge steel. Sometimes original machines have reproduction back doors because the original got lost.
Some people will say the machine has to be original because it has a red Mills sticker on the side of the machine. You can get these stickers for $1.50 and they are used when people restore a machine. When it comes to proving that a machine is not fake they mean nothing.
Also, look at the slides. If they are plastic (originals are brass) then get away from the machine. Most of the people making the fakes use metal slides, just like the originals. The really bad knock-offs use plastic slides.
Golden Nuggets
Most of the Golden Nuggets listed on eBay are fake, phony, reproduction, remanufactured machines. Very few original Golden Nuggets exist. Fortunately, it’s easy to tell an original from a fake.
Original Golden Nuggets have the following:
1) A formic cabinet – repros have a solid wood base.
2) Extra wide coin tray – repros have a smaller coin tray.
3) Award card is stamped – repros are silk screened.
4) Most repros do not have the horizontal check detector lever on the escalator.
5) Most repros do not have the verticle check detection lever on the mechanism.
6) Most repros have a perfectly smooth reproduction back door.
Conclusion
If you don’t mind owning a reproduction, understand that it has zero value as an antique! It is against eBay rules to sell reproduction machines. If eBay ever decides to enforce their own rules, you may be stuck with a machine that you cannot sell.
The Rol-A-Top slot machine model was the most popular model of the Watling Manufacturing co. The brilliant idea of adding around coin escalator on top of the slot machine was first implemented by Thomas Watling in the early 1930s, and soon it became one of the most popular slot machine models of the century.
However, the arrival of World War 2 was dramatically a dark period for this company. Thomas Watling, the founder of the company, died in the year 1943 leaving the company in care of his five sons. John Watling, the eldest son took the responsibility of leading the company with the help of his brothers, but the effect of World War 2 put the slot machine business in a slump and the company was instead manufacturing ammunition, as the government closed down the customers for that particular duration and shifted to war production.
After World War 2 was over, the company jumped back to manufacturing slot machines and this time, it hit the market in the year 1947 with their latest and original variation of their slot machine model, the Rol-A-Top Checkerboard, which turned out to be one of the most popular slot machine models this company has ever produced.
The Watling Rol-A-Top Checkerboard Twin Jackpot Slot Machine is just as modern as it could have been when it was first created, but also had a hint of the slot machine designs that were previously built by the Watling Company. The Rol-A-Top or the coin escalator on top of the machine was kept intact, but the body of the machine was designed to have a checkerboard theme.
The machine is built to be purely mechanical and consists of a coin slot, 3 slot reels, one handle to pull, and twin jackpot slots. Apart from this, the slot machine also features a button at the back of the Rol-A-Top, which when pressed can return your coin if in case it is jammed at the coin escalator.
Watkins Rol A Top Slot Machines 1 Dollar Models List
Playing this slot machine is simple and is just like playing any other slot machine. All you have to do is put 5 cents coin into the coin slot situated at the top of the Rol-A-Top, pull the handle on the side and wait for the luck to show up. If you are lucky enough, you might hit the jackpot or may score any one of the winning combinations. However, if you land on anything other than the winning combinations, you can simply expect nothing, not even a complimentary. Given below are the winning combinations of this slot machine, along with the prize money that can be won for each combination.
Since it is a gambling machine built in 1947, it is extremely rare to find. If there was a place where it can still exist, it has to be in Nevada, US, as the Watling Company always wanted to be popular in this US state. Hence, the most number of sales that they must have made should have been here. As everything is available online these days, there is a good chance that you can find it available on the Internet. So, be sure to check the local classifieds and online e-commerce stores, if in case you can find it on sale there.
Apart from this, the company manufactured this model in the year 1947 but had to stop its production by 1951, which means that there are not many Rol-A-Top Checkerboard Twin Jackpot Slot Machines to buy. Considering all this and the antique nature of the machine, its price could be a little over the top. In any case, if the slot machine is in mint condition and without any refurbishing, it could easily sell over $10,000 today. But if the machine has been refurbished, then the price could range from $5000 to $7000, depending on how much of the original machine has been restored and how good is its working condition.