Watling Derby

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Watling Derby

Postby Lol » Wed May 02, 2018 5:34 am

Randyvw said that he liked the stories. Well they don't come any bigger that the Watling Derby, a floor standing model from 1911. They are said to be the most valuable slot machines in the world as their are only two known to exhist. One was found by Burton.A.Burton in 1969. The other by Larry DeBaugh in 1989. The restorations were a true labour of love with no restraint on cost.

Both stories were documented a long time ago. Loose Change, October 1980 covered the restoration of the Burton.A.Burton find. Coin-op classics May/June 1994 covered the restoration of the Larry DeBaugh find. I went to a Chicagoland show towards the end of the 90's. The exact date escapes me for now. I remember seeing the two restored Watling Derby's on show side by side. I took some photos which I have attached.

If you google Watling Derby, not a lot of information appears. However there is some info on a reproduction of the Watling Derby that was electro-mechanical. I could not find any other info on the reproduction so I don't know how many were produced or what they cost or who made them? Perhaps others know more on this.

As stories go I don't think that many can beat the determination of Burton.A.Burton or Larry DeBaugh. It appears that against all odds they both succeeded.
Laurence
Attachments
Watling Derby 1.JPG
Watling Derby 3.JPG
Watling Derby 2.JPG
Lol
 
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