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Friday, June 30, 2006

Liberty Belle Under the Hammer

The owners of the the famous Liberty Belle Saloon in Reno have put their establishment on the market for $1,750,000. This does not include the historic content which is coming under the hammer on July 8th. Most of the slot machines for sale are pictured in Marshal Fey's Slot Machines - A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years. The details, together with the online and printed catalogue, are available at Peter Sidlow & Pat McGuire's Victorian Casino Antique Auction.


Liberty Belle Saloon Catalogue

Improved! Cheaper! PennyMachines Market

The PennyMachines Market is proving an increasingly successful method of selling vintage slots. Now, by arrangement with Jerry Chattenton, all Market adverts will be automatically published in two issues of Mechanical Memories Magazine. The listings also appear at BidFind.com and BidHopper.com, the two leading aggregators of independent online auctions and classified adverts, so you can be sure your adverts are gaining maximum exposure and reaching the right audience. What's more, it's cheaper now, with a simple flat fee based upon how long you want your advert to run (from £5.00 for a month to £20 for 6 months). Furthermore, you're no longer required to state a selling price, although in my opinion it is always better to do so. I figure if you can't decide how to price your item the best selling format is an auction.

Talking of Mechanical Memories Magazine, the June issue was another cracker, with a couple of particularly interesting articles about the Steer-a-Ball machines and the mysterious Jackpot, Safari, Plentywin and Double Your Win allwins.
Mechanical Memories Magazine


Reporting on last May's Slot Machine Sale, John Bundy of Southern Counties Auctioneers commented The number and quality of lots on offer were both encouraging and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of prospective buyers present on sale day.... We achieved a sale rate of 72% and have posted the results on our web site (www.salisburyauctioncentre.co.uk). [Also in the Arena.] For your information it is our intention to make this an annual fixture around the same time each year.

Sales were sluggish ten days later at Christies auction of Mechanical Music And Technical Apparatus, with the sale rate of slots down to less than 50% (see the Arena), although I believe many were purchased at reserve afterwards. The buyer's market continues. Get your vintage slots now! It won't last for ever.