Montana Gaming decals on Jennings

[sam2002]

OK maybe a novice question but here goes . I have 2 Jennings machines with these gaming decals on their sides , what is this telling me about these machines ? When I think gambling , slot machines etc Montana is not what comes to mind . Are these maybe from small clubs like VFW ?

[watlingboy]

Sam,

Lots of great machines have come out of Montana. Many were in clubs, Elks, VFW, etc. and many came from old operators. I once got 3 new in the box High tops from Montana, part of 11 machines purchased from Mills. Even upright operators had to pay a tax for every machine they operated. Those are tax stamps showing the tax had been paid for those two machines in 1948 and 1949. Most machines coming from Montana have these stamps. Machines coming from other states also have them. Machines coming from Montana are usually in great shape because of the dry climate, machines survived very well as opposed to say Louisiana which has high humidity which attacks the aluminum. One of the reasons double and triple uprights were made was because they required only 1 tax stamp. I have seen upright tax stamps that were $80 a year, a lot of money back then.

Watlingboy

[sam2002]

Watlingboy

Thank you very much for all of that great information !
I enjoy learning about this hobby .
The Sun Chief is a dime machine I have had it for several years and played it many times it has been a flawless player probably due to the fact that as you say it is in good shape due to the climate it came from .


Take care
Sam