Mills 5 cent Token Bell Slot Machine

Mills had a good thing going with their High Top line of slot machines and they made good use of it. From 1947's introduction of the Jewel Bell High Top through the last of the High Tops in 1961, the Mills Novelty Co, now renamed Mills Bell-O-Matic Corporation, produced numerous versions of the venerable High Top. Although the mechanism remained the same, the case underwent various minor revisions to accomodate the different models. One such variation was the Token Bell. One of the operators' biggest complaints at the time was that they were losing play because each jackpot paid a different amount. Many jackpots at the time were self-filling. As a result, depending on when a customer played the slot, and when the last jackpot paid out, a customer might only have a half-filled jackpot to shoot for. This discouraged play on recently hit machines, causing a loss of operator revenue. Additionally, Nevada law required a guaranteed jackpot for Nevada casinos - something the standard High Top could not accomplish. The solution was the Token Bell! Instead of dispensing coins for a jackpot, the Token Bell dispensed a unique token, which was redeemable over the counter for a fixed amount. No longer would customers complain that they did not get the full amount! A track full of tokens inside the machine helped assure that a new jackpot award was always waiting for the next lucky customer!

In addition to a guaranteed jackpot, some machines, such as this one, had a 7-7-7 award, in adddition the the jackpot itself! This award was in the form of a different style unique token, similarly paid out over the counter. Line up three 7's in the window and that beautiful token came tumbling out of the machine!! Although it might have been redeemable only for around $25 or $50, back then, that was like hitting a week's pay or more!! Nice!!!

This Mills Token Bell High Top is in fine original condition. It was left in the original paint and finish as it would be a shame to lose such a neat historical artifact. It has been cleaned, lubed, and adjusted for trouble-free operation, and plays and pays out as it should! It even has an original jackpot token, and an original 7-7-7 token in the respective inside mechanisms, so when you hit three bars or three 7's, the tokens will be dispensed as they should. All other pay outs are in nickles, according to the original award card!!