|
The
coin machine (or "automatic retailing" as it is
increasingly known) has a long history. It's hard to believe,
the ancient Greeks invented the first coin machine in 215 BC.
The first coin machine dispensed holy water when a coin was
inserted. Hero of Alexander described this first coin machine in his
book ‘Pneumatic’.
However coin machines for
vending snuff, postcards and even a change machine didn't appeared
until the late 18th century, but coin machines did not
become popular until a rash of patents in the 1880s for coin
acceptor mechanisms that could distinguish genuine coins from fakes.
Since then, an enormous variety of coin machines have been tried.
The
first commercial coin machines were introduced in London, England,
in the early 1880s. The coin machines dispensed post cards. Richard
Carlisle, an English publisher and bookshop owner, invented a coin
machine for selling books, around the same time.
These coin machines that
were invented in England, adopted in America in the 1880s, and most
prolifically produced in Chicago, Illinois--have been a part of
everyday life for over one hundred years. In
1888, the Thomas Adams Gum Company introduced the very first coin
machine to the United States. The machines were installed on the
elevated subway platforms in New York City and sold Tutti-Frutti
gum. In 1897, the Pulver Manufacturing Company added animated
figures to its' gum machines as an added attraction. The round candy
coated gumball and gumball coin machines were introduced in 1907.
Coin
machines soon offered everything including; cigars, postcards,
stamps, etc. In Philadelphia, a completely coin machine restaurant
called Horn & Hardart was opened in 1902 and stayed opened until
1962. In the early 1920's, the first automatic vending machines
started dispensing sodas into cups. In 1926, an American inventor
named William Rowe invented a cigarette coin machine. The coin
machine industry rose to new
heights and prominent makers such as Groetchen Tool, Buckley, Bally,
Pierce Tool, and many others were kept busy until the 1960s
The perfect vintage
collectible is one with a beginning and an end, and yet stills
numerous enough to enable enthusiasts to build collections like coin
machines.
Beginning
as well as seasoned coin machine collector will appreciate the
useful hints for finding these machines, restoring and servicing
them, common terminology, and information on specialized shows and
collector associations that you will find in the various coin
machine reference books at Delve Bookstore |
|
