Slot Machines and Silver Dollars

TigersFan2

When did slot machines in Las Vegas stop using Morgan & Peace dollars? Was it around the beginning of clad coinage in the mid-1960s? Or were they still being used in slot machines later than that?

I have 2 references...

1. There's an episode of "The Twilight Zone" from the first season in 1959 that has the main character going to Las Vegas and gambling in slot machines. In it, it's obvious that Morgan & Peace dollars are being used.
2. When I was a kid in the 1970s, my grandparents had several Morgan & Peace dollars (heavily circulated) and they said they were saving them in case someone they know goes to Las Vegas to put them in a slot machine for them. When they died in the 1990s, they still had the silver dollars.

Just an editorial on slot machines... I was in Las Vegas about a year ago and was disappointed that they took paper money and paid out by printing a slip of paper to take to the cashier to cash. About 10 years ago I remember feeding coins into the slot machine and having it dump out coins for the winning pulls. The slot machine is more fun with actual coins and clang-clang-clang of coins being dumped into a tray.

mbogoman

I've owned casino silver dollar tokens from 1965 and 1966, which probably means they started phasing them (silver dollars) out when silver coins were phased out. The tokens had unique designs and reed patterns for each casino, so the slots must have been modified to recognize only certain types of reeded edges...

bigtime36

There are a few casinos near me that still accept and return coins. A few years back i guy i know would go and stick in cash and then cash out. Be would get back silver quarters and halves depending on the machine.

oih82w8

I went to Vegas in 1989 and I still have a "token" from Sam's Town which is the same size as an Ike.

AUandAG

they were gone by the end of '65.

bob

Wabbit2313

<< <i>There are a few casinos near me that still accept and return coins. A few years back i guy i know would go and stick in cash and then cash out. Be would get back silver quarters and halves depending on the machine. >>



What is your definition of

<< <i>A few years back >>

CaptHenway

After the Treasury stopped paying out silver dollars (except for the few million pieces that later became the GSA sale) on March 25, 1964, people started hoarding silver dollars, though for a while they were still around from the pieces that people had gotten from the Treasury hoping to get rare dates. People who got common dates just deposited them back into their bank accounts.

I suspect that they must have dried up pretty quick, because the Franklin Mint did begin striking dollar tokens for the casinos in 1965. I know that the Treasury Dept. did try to persuade the casinos to not issue the tokens, but the casinos responded "If you don't want us to issue tokens make more silver dollars." The Treasury couldn't because the compromise that killed the 1964-D Peace dollars around May of 1965 specified that no dollar coins could be struck for five years.

The casinos kept making tokens until the five-year ban expired and the Treasury issued the Ike dollar in 1971.

OldEastside

I jammed up one of those huge mega slots (the kind you'd get your picture taken at) at the entrance to the casino, had to have security
come and fix it and it was a big hassle to get my Ike back, they saw it was an Ike and gave me a lecture about it only uses ther dollar tokens
that was about twenty years ago

Steve

BillJones

<< <i>they were gone by the end of '65.

bob >>



I read back than that the casino owners were scratching off the dates to keep them away from collectors.

vplite

Most gamblers prefer ticket (or in paper out. My hands fingers used to turn black handling coins, even the casino tokens.

I knowof only one casino in Vegas, the El Cortez, that advertises coin in and out. I've heard the Plaza had them recently as well as Circus.

My parents visited Vegas in 1963 and silver dollars were still being used. By 1965, no more.

Gresham's law: bad money drive out good (out of circulation).

bigtime36

7years back.

TonerGuy

You can still purchase "antique" machines that use Ike $ though.

I have not see an machine for sale that uses silver dollars for sale.

drwstr123

As a collector of coins and coin-op, which includes slot machines, antique slots are available.
In fact, some of the more difficult to acquire are the penny slots.
Deemed less valuable, they were the most destroyed.
Here's a site with much information on the subject:
LINKY

SaorAlba

I do know that ca. 1976 when I was a young kid I saw one in Carson City that accepted and paid out in silver dollars - not Ikes.

BTW I own an older slot machine that I used worn out Buffalo nickels in.

claychaser

I once went through an estate that had a bunch of weird looking silver dollars. I initially thought that they were fakes due to their really weird surface appearances, but it turns out that these were apparently sandblasted by one of the casinos to ruin them for collectors. They were really off on the appearance.

claychaser

BTW - that was a great Twilight Zone episode!

DaggoB

<< <i>they were gone by the end of '65.

bob >>


Got married in March of 1966 and stayed at the Thunderbird Casino which was on Las Vegas Blvd. while on our honeymoon. Silver dollars were still in use. Some casinos had silver dollar slot machines at least into 1970. Others were using tokens.

Coinstartled

@bigtime36 said:
There are a few casinos near me that still accept and return coins. A few years back i guy i know would go and stick in cash and then cash out. Be would get back silver quarters and halves depending on the machine.

I miss the coin operated machines. For some reason I feel lucky right now and should try my luck on the slots.

ifthevamzarockin

@Coinstartled
"For some reason I feel lucky right now and should try my luck on the slots."

Could it be 7,777 ?

ifthevamzarockin

Got tired of giving all my money to the casinos so I bought my own.
They play & pay with coins or currency.

bigtime36

@Coinstartled last time I asked someone who frequented the casinos he said a few small ones still took coins, I am going to check next time I go.

amwldcoin

I don't know how I did it...but I did that to token machine to enter the metro(subway) in Russia 1 time....Yikes!

@OldEastside said:
I jammed up one of those huge mega slots (the kind you'd get your picture taken at) at the entrance to the casino, had to have security
come and fix it and it was a big hassle to get my Ike back, they saw it was an Ike and gave me a lecture about it only uses ther dollar tokens
that was about twenty years ago

Steve

PerryHall

I read somewhere that the casinos in the mid 1960's actually used grinders to totally remove the dates from the silver dollars to discourage people from taking them as souvenirs. I've never seen one but I imagine virtually all of them were later melted since they no longer had any collector value.

ricko

I can remember years ago, the Big Bertha slot machine... forget which casino, and maybe several had one... had to jump up to pull the humongous lever... always saved one dollar for that machine after I heard it pay off once... huge siren and bell....Lots of fun....Cheers, RickO