Mills Cherry Burst Slot Machine

This is a beautiful 25 cents Circa 1930’s Mills Slot Machine in excellent condition, inside and out. It is called a “Bursting Cherry”. The Mills Novelty Company was once the world’s largest manufacturer of coin-operated machines, including slot machines. Looking to buy or sell a Mills slot machine? We are the largest authentic Mills slot machine collector in the USA. View our online collection of one of a kind slot machines from the 1920's - 1950's.

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Mills Bursting Cherry Slot Machine For Sale
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Mills Slot Machines Repair

Case Restoration Service $225.00

Includes stripping and refinishing the sides and base of the wood on the cabinet. Every carriage bolt, screw and all pieces will be removed from the cabinet and the cabinet will be stripped and refinished. We usually keep the insides as original as possible, but if there is armor that is rusty, we will remove rust and repaint.

Casting restoration Service $300.00 and up

Includes taking all pieces off the castings and polishing up the castings, cash bowl and any of the aluminum that can be buffed. The castings will have to be hand painted in most cases, and everything will have to be assembled. If some of the pieces need plated, shipping and plating can be very expensive. In some cases can add $1000 to the price of restoration.

If castings are cracked, broken or missing, please call prior to sending. The painting of castings will be done to customer specifications. We offer both original and custom paint schemes. Our pricing is very reasonable compared to other vendors who offer this service. However, since each and every restoration is unique, we ask that you call us for an estimate before sending your slot machine to us for service or repair. (406) 656-6569 or Toll Free: (888) 850-5270

Mechanical Restoration Service $450.00

1. All slot mechanisms are disassembled, cleaned in solvent, hand dried, lubricated, and then reassembled, tuned, and tested.

2. The coin escalators and jackpots are cleaned and serviced in the same manner.

3. Glass pieces and minor springs replaced as needed.

Part replacement is extra. You will be contacted if major part replacement is required.
Your machine will then carry a two (2) year warranty to the original purchaser on all work performed by Slots of Montana.
We only service mechanical machines. We do not service electronic machines.

Slots of Montana charges a nominal fee of $450.00 for this service. This fee may be slightly higher in some cases.

Combo - Mechanical and Case Restoration Service $695.00

Includes all the services in the Mechanical Restoration Service package plus...

1. Polish castings

2. Refinish wood

3. Hand paint castings

The painting of castings will be done to customer specifications. We offer both original and custom paint schemes. Our pricing is very reasonable compared to other vendors who offer this service. However, since each and every restoration is unique, we ask that you call us for an estimate before sending your slot machine to us for service or repair. (406) 656-6569 or Toll Free: (888) 850-5270

Introduction to Fruit Reel Symbols

Why do slot machines use fruit reel symbols? Well, to understand why this tradition came to be, we’ll have to delve into slot machine history. Slot machines are gambling devices. At first, they weren’t slot machines. Nor were they always fruit machines.

Reel symbols are often traditional, including stars, bars, numbers, and various pictured fruits. Fruits can include cherries, plums, oranges, lemons, and watermelons.

Keep Reading … or Listen Instead!

One-Armed Bandits

Initially, slot machines were one-armed bandits. Later, in Great Britain, they became fruit machines. Why? Because pulling a handle activated it. That’s how you’d make a bet. Nowadays, of course, we can also push a button.

Making a bet happens after entering coins, tokens, cash, or casino credits. Subsequently, the player makes a bet, and the reels with symbols begin to spin. When done spinning, the reel symbols shown lined up along pay lines determine the payout, if any.

Mills War Eagle Slot Machines

Fruit Reel Symbols

The Industry Novelty Company, run by O. D. Jennings, first used fruit reel symbols. This moment in history was a time when legal restrictions on slot machines were beginning. For example, San Francisco banned all 3,300 slot machines within the city in 1909.

To circumvent these new laws on cash-paying slot machines, manufacturers began turning their gambling devices into chewing gum dispensers. They did this by replacing card number and suit reel symbols with fruit reel symbols.

After this change, the reels showed fruit symbols. As a result, any wins were various flavors of gum, as indicated by the winning fruit reel symbols.

Plus, every “bet” resulted in a win. Therefore, these machines stopped being betting machines an authentically became automatic vending machines.

A Bit More History

Before 1907, slot machines that paid out in coins had already existed for 20 years. Charles Fey of San Francisco invented coin-dispensing slot machines in April 1887.

Before 1887, slot machines were one-armed bandits. The game played was a form of poker. Winning combinations resulted in allowing the player free drinks or cigars.

These machines usually had five reels with ten cards per reel. This collection of reel symbols totaled 50 cards from the standard 52-card deck. The two cards excluded were the Ten of Spades and the Jack of Hearts.

For those readers that play poker, you’ll understand that leaving these two cards out of the deck halved the chance of receiving a Royal Flush. This jackpot was the big prize.

Mills Bursting Cherry Slot Machine For Sale

Here are a few pictures of these antique slot machines at Cyprus Casino Consultant, Casino Observer, and International Arcade Museum.

Summary of Fruit Reel Symbols

Starting in 1907, Industry Novelty began turning out Bell Fruit Gum slot machines. Another early slot machine manufacturer, Mills Novelty Company, began producing them in 1910.

Antique Mills Slot Machine Parts

The reels on these slot machines included cherry, melon, orange, apple, and bar symbols with non-cash payouts in the form of fruit-flavored gum, allowing machine owners to avoid prosecution under the anti-gambling laws of that time.

The cherry and bar symbols became traditional to slot machines still commonly used today. The bar symbol was a company logo of a slot manufacturer meant to resemble a stick of gum.

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