Mills War Eagle - Original or repro ?

[christopheb]

Dear All,
Have just received this nice little WAR EAGLE and am wondering if it is legit. I read all the posts about reproductions, and am getting a bit nervous about this one.

I know that the reel strips, the award card, and the backdoor lock were replacement (and am OK with that). The seller promised all the rest was original. The machine has obviously been repainted and polished (not plated) and looks good.
A couple of things make me wonder :
- the small nails on the front of the base (see picture). They don't look old, and don't look like the ones on my other Mills (which are larger, and are pushed in a bit deeper in the wood).
- the escalator only has 1 horizontal lever (missing the check detector and possibly, other levers etc...).

This is a 10 stop machine. The serial number is 273900 is stamped on the front (in the black stripes, just at the right of the window). I can't find a serial number on the mech itself.

So what would you say ? Original ? Reproduction ? (I know it's not easy to say just looking at a picture, but any advice would be valuable !!).
Thanks.
Christophe

[christopheb]

A few more pictures for your perusal.
Looking forward your comments / feelings about this machine. Thanks !.

[watlingboy]

A few more pictures would help but from what you sent, I think the guy was telling you the truth. It appears to be an original War Eagle with the items you mentioned having been replaced. There was no stamped number on the mech only a paper tag towards the front of the mech on the base plate. These are often missing or unreadable.

Watlingboy

[christopheb]

Thanks for your comments. I did post more pictures, but I guess they are still awaiting approval from moderator.
I appreciate your feedback.

Christophe

[SLOTMANDAVE]

It does look like the reel deal to me, it has been restored at one time .

[Dave]

The mechanism has skill stops. No reproduction mechanism that I have ever seen has skill stops.

Dave

[WS65711]

"Skill Stops" ???

Not all of us know what skill stops are. Like me.. I dunno what they are . . .

[marsonion]

"Skill stops" are buttons aligned to the reels that allow the player himself to stop the reels, as if that made it a game of "skill." Obviously, nobody could possibly stop a spinning reel in any skillful or predictable manner, so this became a dodge around gambling laws... YOU stopped the reels on a LEMON, cherry and a plum, so how can you call that GAMBLING?

Brilliant.

"Skill Stops" ???

Not all of us know what skill stops are. Like me.. I dunno what they are . . .

[Mills]

Hello,
according to your serial number on the front high, your machine dates from 1931.
There is not, to my knowledge, Mills reproduction with 10 stops and moreover skill stop! So your mechanic seems to be original.
But the mechanic is a "light" version !. All the parts to detect token with hole or slug are leaved.

By cons, there are no mechanical stops 10 with payment 3-5-10-14-18-20! It was not until 1933 that Mills has introduced this type of payment on the Castle Front. Logically the payments should be: 2-4-8-12-16-20.
So the payout slides are not original.
In addition to the cover of the payout slides is a cover for Mills 50s (For High Top). It is easily recognized because it has a lever to trigger the jackpot.

For the wooden base, it is probably a reproduction. It seems too clean for its age. In addition the nail typically resemble those reproductions

PS : sorry for my very bad english !

[WS65711]

"Skill stops" are buttons aligned to the reels that allow the player himself to stop the reels ...

Thanks for the explanation. Now that I know what I'm looking for I can see the button below the reel windows, and now I know why they're there. Thanks again!