I know for sure that Chris Tella will like seeing this! I picked this up today from a guy who has been buying and selling slot machines for over 50 years now. I had a 1931 Mills War Eagle quarter slot machine REPRODUCTION that I bought about a year ago. I decided it would be a good time to sell it, so onto craigslist it went! The old man called me, and we talked for about an hour about the price, condition, etc. I had it listed at $1100, but that was just a number. I ended up getting $600 cash and this neat little thing!

It's a Groetchen Mercury Deluxe "Trade Stimulator", (circa 1940). Basically, it was a way to gamble "legally" back in the 40's when most slot machines were either illegal or questionable. Most of these old Trade Stimulators gave a gumball with every coin inserted, making it a gumball machine with a game of chance! This one, however, is strictly a game of chance, and did not provide free gum. You insert a penny, pull down th handle, and the three reels spin. If three matching symbols match up, (in this case, cigarette brands), you get a payout token good for trade, (in this case, 1, 2, 3, 5, or 10 pack of cigarettes.)

All of these trade stimulators were very small and light, and could be pulled behind the counter if the local lawman passed by. Some rare machines even have a slide that hides all the reels, making it look like just a gumball machine. Others were cleverly disguised to look like cash registers.

As with most of these stimulators, there had to be an operator present at all times. His job was to be behind the machine and flip a lever that released the coin into the bottom. The operator could see each coin put into it, and would make sure slugs or foreign coins weren't used. This model also has an automatic slug and coin error ejector, but some could still pass through.

I put just over 100 pennies through it, and finally had three of a kind match up, and a brass token good for one pack of cigs came out. I've been using wheat back pennies; I thought it would be most appropriate. Some of the cigarette brands include lucky strike, camel, one thousand, kool, wings, old gold, etc.

If anyone besides Chris Tella is interested in coin operated devices, please feel free to contact me. I'd be happy to share some more pictures of my collection with you. I currently have around 40 gumball machines, a penny scale, a slot machine, this trade stimulator, a pinball machine, a couple jukeboxes, a couple wallboxes, a few parking meters, and lots of other odds and ends.

Also, if you have a smaller coin operated machine you are interested in selling or getting restored, I will pay cash for them, or can restore your machine to look like new. Replacement parts for most things like gumball machines or parking meters are very easy and very cheap to get. I also have a decent stock of parts that will fit many things.