Chew On This

When I was little, we didn't have a lot of money for frivolities, and that included the bank of bubble gum and toy capsule machines in the breezeway of our local grocery store and the front entrance of the K-Mart we visited on occasion.  But my sister and I would always stop and look at them and debate which machine we would choose if we did have some coins.   With gumballs, you might not have known what color you were going to get, but you knew it was a gumball and its flavor would last about 15 seconds.  More exciting to me were the toy capsule vending machines whose header cards displayed the possibilities held within its plastic bubbles. When we got older and had an allowance ($1 a week), we learned to stretch it far enough to get some comics, candy and even a trinket or gum from those magical vending wonders.

Yesterday I was at the estate sale of a person who had been a major bubble gum machine collector and had dozens of models from all eras.  They were priced way out of my range, but I discovered bags of old header cards that were priced just right.

Leaf Rain-blo Bubble Gum

Touch Down!

I've mentioned before in a previous post my fascination with gumball machines and their contents when I was little.  I found these at an estate sale about a month ago.

I remember seeing these a lot, but not being a sports fan, my quarters never went toward them.  And I was hesitant to let $4 go toward them at the sale, but I took a gamble.  I usually lose when I gamble.  Checking eBay once I was home confirmed my fears.  There were larger lots going for $10 and less.  I went ahead and listed them anyway with a starting bid of $4.99. The sale finished today after heated bidding with a winning bid of $32.63.  I have no idea what the particular attraction for this lot was.  I can only guess one of these is not common.  Maybe the older style Cardinals helmet or the Redskins helmet (the design being an older one).  At any rate (or at a quarter a piece), that's a lot of gumballs.

Toy n Joy

When I was little, the trip to the local grocery store or K-Mart wasn't complete without a stop at the bank of vending machines near the front door. It was a rare occasion that my mother gave me a dime or quarter for the encapsulated treasures or gigantic gumballs, but that never stopped me from staring slack-jawed at the possibilities. Later, when I had an allowance, I collected gumball machine prizes. Trolls (similar to the Dammit trolls, but smaller) and superballs are a couple I recall getting weekly.

Those memories came flooding back to me this morning. On my usual garage sale route, I found that the house I had bought the electronic games from was having another sale. I figured I'd stop in and see if there was anything I had missed or if the prices had been slashed.

Stepping inside, I immediately saw this to my right:


and this:



and this:


They were all labeled $10. As I was looking them over for the one in best condition, contemplating the price, one of the hosts of the garage sale came by and said I could have them all for $15. I was pretty sure I could sell at least one of them on eBay and get my money back, so I told him I'd take them.
At home, I was surprised how well they cleaned up; they had been extremely dusty. I noticed one of the machines still had some prizes inside, so after positioning them into the drop slots, I put in a dime and claimed my prize -- 2 $1000 bills! Alas, instead of Grover Cleveland, they sported a deer head. A clear tip-off they weren't legal tender. The vending machine in the first picture is in very good shape and I would imagine it was in the middle of the bank. The second one is a little rougher and has some paint wear. I couldn't find any manufacturer's marks on the last one. It also appears to have been repainted.

Only the red and blue unmarked vending machine had a key, so I opened it up. Inside was a 1965 penny which is probably about right for the era. I thought it was a mistake that there was a penny inside, but after trying, I found it was indeed a penny vending machine. From the inner workings, it appears to have vended loose peanuts or candy -- the kind you'd get a handful of.

The seller had told me the other two didn't have keys, but he thought the locks could be opened with a screw driver. I tried one and sure enough, the lock turned and I was able to remove the front plate. I was happy to find a bunch of vending prizes in a bag inside the machine:


I also noticed on the inside of the coin mechanism:

I wonder if I could still take them up on their offer?

The other vending machine's lock is functional, so the screw driver failed to open it. I wonder how much it would cost to have a key cut for it...

The two Toy n Joy vending machines are both dime vend and made for toy capsules. As you can see, they are made by the L. M. Becker & Co in Appleton, Wisconsin. They are still in business and they are still selling the Toy n Joy vendors and stock. Looking over their inventory there's not much I could buy to make a profit from a dime a piece. I may order some capsules though and fill them with the prizes that came with the machines and whatever else I can find -- I think I still have some of those trolls...