Midcoast Vintage wrote:Interesting.
Freddy's date of 1931 from the SPINNING REELS book would definitely be correct.
Since the silent escalator style machine (war eagle) also came out in 1931, and it had the standard reserve jackpot system, it makes sense that the reserve jackpot lion would be available at the same time.
So.... i guess we need to hear from some lion front owners of both versions to get some serial numbers and possibly shed some light on this.
I have misplace my Bueschel's slots volume one, which may or may not shed some light on this.
If anyone out there has their copy handy, let us know if Dick answered our question in that first volume.
Just when I didn't need another research project, all this had to pop up. This ought to confuse us all even more.
I am not as familiar with the "Lion Head" models, as I am with others, as I have owned only a couple, (which I no longer have), and worked on a few others.
I had both a single, and a double JP, but never compared the two, other than the difference in the lower front casting. I personally like the looks of the
single JP model, because of the way the open mouth clinches the JP, unlike the confusing look of the twin JP. Another thing that is not present on most of
these models, are the skill stops, even though all upper castings have the stubs for them.
I agree that the Spinning Reels issue of 1931, that Freddy posted, should be the correct info, regarding the introduction of the 'Silent' series, with the new
features, but I don't understand the notation of "Two Payout Cups". I don't ever remember seeing one with a single cup. Does anyone have one with a single
cup? The listings for this machine, that are in our collector books seem to date it as beginning in 1931, but clearly the list that I am showing below, from
Bueschel's "100 Most Slots Vol.3, shows serials between the 1928 & 1929 period. It shows the 'Rebuilt Gooseneck' models listed first, going into the 275,000
serials, but showing no Silent GN listed until after 1932. Then more Rebuilt GN in between the last Silent's. The biggest area of confusion here, is the vast
scattering of the single & double JP. You can also see that most of the "Lion Head" serials listed, are in the 1932 to 1933 range, and even into the 1935-36
period. I only listed a couple of "Poinsettia" & "War Eagle" machines, just for reference of where they fit in with the early serials. Only two of the "Lion's"
had a 1932 date. Not sure if the provider of the serial # also had a date sticker inside the case, or that Dick put them there as a guess from serials that
were given for other models. The 1933 & 1935 dates were placed in the list, as there were many other different model dated machines between the "Lion's".
Bueschel talks about the new Silent "Lion", which Mills called the "Silent Gooseneck" at it's introduction in 1931, in 100 Most Slots Vol.1, on page 59. Saying
that Mills wanted to call it the "Lion Head", but that operators quickly tagged it as "Tiger Front", "Wolf's Head", and "Lion Gooseneck". Where the hell Tiger
and Wolf came from, is beyond me, as the design does NOT look anything like either. The pattern is definitely LION, and nothing else. I believe the WOLF
monicker was placed on it by collectors referring to the Reproductions that began to flood the market in the early 1980's, by a person who's last name was
Wolf. All you newbies, please be aware that there are a very large number of Repro "Lion Heads" in existence, and all are the twin JP model. They are still
showing up in live auctions, on a regular basis, as well as eBay. Always ask for a serial number, and make sure it is in the correct range. I am not aware of
numbers being stamped on the Repro's, as I never bothered to check them in the past. Maybe another member can shed some light on this.
Mills “Lion Head” Serial Number History
(Taken from Bueschel 100 Most Slots 3 of 1981) 215,167--- 5c Poinsettia ----------------------(12/12/1928)
215,317-- 10c Lion Head 2JP Rebuilt Gooseneck
215,999--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP ---------- // ----------
216,521--- 5c Poinsettia ------------------------------(1929)
221,912--- ??? Lion Head 2JP ---------- // ----------
222,831--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP ---------- // ---------- (1932)
223,458--- 5c War Eagle 2JP
226,151--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP
228,622-- 25c Lion Head 2JP ---------- // ----------
234,109--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP ---------- // ---------- (1932)
247,582--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP ---------- // ----------
251,471--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP ---------- // ----------
253,635--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP ---------- // ----------
274,887--- 5c ---- // ---- 1JP ---------- // ----------
275,562-- 10c ---- // ---- 2JP Silent Gooseneck
287,365--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP --------- // ---------
287,582--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP --------- // ---------
289,117--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP --------- // ---------
294,686--- 5c ---- // ---- 1JP Rebuilt Gooseneck
301,728--- 5c ---- // ---- 1JP ---------- // ----------
302,195-- 25c ---- // ---- 2JP Silent Gooseneck
303,679-- 10c ---- // ---- 1JP --------- // ---------
---------------------------------------------------------(1933)
347,308--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP --------- // ---------
---------------------------------------------------------(1935)
369,701--- 5c ---- // ---- 2JP --------- // ---------
370,099-- 25c ---- // ---- 2JP --------- // ---------