Morphy’s hits $2M jackpot with antique coin-op machines and advertising

Circa-1904 Caille Bros. 5-cent Roulette floor-model slot machine with seven coin-slots. Fresh to the market after being purchased from The Las Vegas Club hotel and casino in the 1970s. The finest original Caille Roulette machine Morphy’s specialists had ever seen, it sold at the midpoint of its pre-sale estimate for $246,000.

DENVER, Pa. – Beautiful coin-operated machines of a bygone era joined forces with stellar antique advertising this month to produce an auction payday at Morphy’s that exceeded $2 million. The Nov. 3-5, 2022 sale, with absentee and Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers, featured more than 1,600 premier lots. All shared a common thread that was best explained by Morphy Auctions CEO Tom Tolworthy, a noted coin-op expert who personally cataloged the auction.

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Music boxes signaled age of mechanical entertainment

A 15.5in Regina Corona style 35 music box with an art glass front and an eight-day Seth Thomas clock earned $27,500 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2020. Image courtesy of Dan Morphy Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

 

A 15.5in Regina Corona style 35 music box with an art glass front and an eight-day Seth Thomas clock earned $27,500 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2020. Image courtesy of Dan Morphy Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
A 15.5in Regina Corona style 35 music box with an art glass front and an eight-day Seth Thomas clock earned $27,500 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2020. Image courtesy of Dan Morphy Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Music boxes, the iPods of centuries past, come in a variety of shapes and styles, from large, upright coin-op examples that were designed for boardwalks, arcades and other public venues, to smaller, more delicate models ideal for boudoirs and other private spaces.

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Indian artists in spotlight at Bruneau auction, Nov. 15

Cubist figural watercolor painting by Maqbool Fida Husain, est. $10,000-$15,000
Cubist figural watercolor painting by Maqbool Fida Husain, est. $10,000-$15,000

CRANSTON, R.I. – Paintings by the renowned Indian artists Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011) and B. Prabha (1933-2001) fared so well in past Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers sales that the pair will be back for an encore in the upcoming Estate Fine Art & Antique Auction slated for Monday, November 15, online-only, starting at 6 pm Eastern time. More than 325 lots will come up for bid. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Morphy’s rolls out rare coin-ops, mechanical music, antique advertising, Nov. 4-6

Exquisite 1899 Mills ‘Double Dewey’ 5-cent and 25-cent musical slot machine, 68in tall, ornate cast-iron claw feet, reliefs of Admiral Dewey, and Mozart. Comes with keys. Estimate $40,000-$80,000

DENVER, Pa. – At the turn of the 20th century, a pocketful of nickels or quarters was all a patron needed for thrills and entertainment at a saloon, amusement arcade or gambling house. Remarkably, the price to operate the ingenious machines that once filled a room with music or paid out a jackpot has not changed, but finding fine examples of such machines is quite another matter. This explains why Morphy Auctions’ Coin-Op & Antique Advertising series is so popular with collectors. Morphy’s never fails to present a connoisseur’s selection of coin-ops and exquisite advertising signs that are rarely seen elsewhere. Their next specialty sale, November 4-6, will offer more than 1,500 choice lots over the three-day period.

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