1953 Oliver Whales "Win A Gift" Allwin Machine

[JACKSJE4]

A friend of mine was out looking for bargains in thrift stores and consignment shops last week and stumbled upon this "Pachinko-like" machine at a consignment shop a few miles from my home. He snapped a picture of it with his cell phone and sent it to me along with the address, in case I was interested. I also found it listed on Craigslist as a "Penny Machine", along with a modern Pachinko and a King Camel Pachislo.

I quickly did my research on it to learn as much about it as I could, then went to see it on Friday evening after work. The store owner said that it has been at his shop since the day he opened, and that he really didn't know much about it. It was reasonably priced for it's condition. I asked him all kinds of questions about it to see how much he knew about Allwins, as well as to learn as much as I could about the history of that machine.

Once I established that he didn't know much about it, other than it worked and took about 6 U.S. pennies to activate a game, I told him as much as I knew about the history of Allwin machines, the manufacturer and year of his machine, and so on. We had a really pleasant and friendly conversation about it, and it almost felt like we were on an episode of Antiques Roadshow.

This machine was built by the Oliver Whales Company in 1953, and there were approx. 125 of this game made. This particular machine was number 56 in the lot, as noted on the serial tag in the upper left portion of the cabinet. It uses the old British half-penny to start a game (I took a handful with me to test the machine), and when a ball lands in one of the win pockets, the player turns the knob on the front of the machine on the lower left to dispense a prize box. I have no idea what was in the prize boxes, however I have about 10 original prize boxes (empty) that came with another "Win-A-Gift" machine I purchased two years ago.

The overall condition of this machine is good! The backflash (cell) is in pretty good condition with only a few minor cracks and rippling, and the mechanics are all present and in great working condition. The wood case is complete and in very good condition for it's age. The only real drawbacks are that the locks have been replaced at some point with newer, more modern locks (no keys), and the knob you turn to dispense the gift has been modified with a metal strap to add more leverage when turning it. Both of these issues can be fixed, and I even think I have original locks available on one of the "parts" machines stored in my attic.

Overall I am very pleased with the addition of this machine to my collection, and it is one of the more challenging Allwins I own. I now have a row of Allwins in my living room (much to my wife's dismay) and it is starting to look like a Olde Time British Penny Arcade.

Now, I just need to find a bunch more of the old half pennies to go with all of these Allwins...

~Jeff


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[naha13]

Nice addition - Wait - what happened to the modern and King Camel?

[JACKSJE4]

Both the Modern and King Camel Pachislo machines are still there. I talked to him about the Pachinko and referred him to PachiTalk to learn more about them. He said he has sold vintage Pachinko machines in the past, but didn't know much about them.

I am not into the Pachislo or modern machines, so I was easily able to pass them up.

[itsmedutch]

I know its in Holland but for info I thought it was nice to see theyre here as well

≥ Oude/antieke knikkerkast/gokkast Allwin de luxe / Wurlitzer - Automaten | Overige - Marktplaats.nl

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[JACKSJE4]

Wow!! That's a beautiful one!! Thanks for posting.

[hanabi]

I have no idea what was in the prize boxes, however I have about 10 original prize boxes (empty) that came with another "Win-A-Gift" machine I purchased two years ago.

I played the Win a Gift allwins when i was a child, along with the win a polo and other prize confectionery allwins like the 'spangles' one. (wasn't allowed to play the 'win a cig' ones though )

I seem to recall I won a cheap plastic necklace in one of the prize boxes? I was over the moon with it

So perhaps they just contained whatever gifts the arcade operator happened to be using at the time, as I also remember the boxes being used in the 'elephant' gift machines, I'm not sure what the real name of that machine was, but it featured a cave with 'treasure' draping it and an elephant that would move out of sight into the cave, it would then reappear with a gift box on it's back when was then deposited as a 'prize'