Antiques Roadshow Watling Totem

[cabinetguy]

All the years watching Antiques Roadshow finally paid.The first appraisal was a Watling Totem. A nice machine in good working condition. Noel Barrett valued it at $25000 being a rare machine.

[BEER4U]

I just saw the rerun of this episode, does this machine
really go for $25,000?
Just wondering.
Link to the episode:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200801A21.html

Is this one of the top machines out there commanding this price?
I know it's what ever someone is willing to pay, but do they?

[watlingboy]

Nice machine but not like any Totem I have seen, this machine usually goes by the name, Watling color match and they also made a different version. Same machine with a different glass and different name. This model also came with and without deferred pay. Little flags would pop up in the small windows to the left of the head. If not deferred pay, a card would be in there. VCA has sold as least 2 or 3 of these machines. I will find a picture of a Totem as I know it and try to post it, only 2 or three Totems are known and they have sold for as much as 3 times as much as this machine. Those symbols on the glass look like they have been pasted on from the front, usually these are always behind the glass to keep people from picking them off. This machine would be worth $25 to $35K depending on condition and the eagerness of the buyer.

Watlingboy

[BEER4U]

Thanks Watlingboy.
The ARS guy (Noel Barret) did mention that this particular machine
did have the original glass with the pics painted on the inside which
is why he said he valued it so high.
I've been going through books I've recently acquired, looking
for something similar and found several, but with different symbols.
Are they so rare because so few were made or they just didn't hold up so well?

[watlingboy]

My mistake, I was confusing this with the Mills Totem. Both Mills and Watling made a Totem. Watling made at least 3 different machines with the same cabinet, just by putting in a different glass. Usually the Mills version is the more common but not in the case of the Totem, as mentioned, only 2 or three exist. More of the various Watling styles have survived and they all seem to be in the $25K to $35K range. The price is determined by rarity and desirability. If you have a few collectors with deep pockets looking for a machine that there is only 2 or 3 of, the price goes up. Same as a nice rare piece going for high dollars at an auction.

Watlingboy