Help on identifying a vintage baseball card vending machine

[Lecomdoc]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and have never posted before. Glad to be here. I was hoping I could get some help on identifying a vintage baseball card vending machine I picked up recently, specifically age and perhaps value. If someone could shed some light, that would be great!

[bigfanNY]

How many cards are dispensed for 50 cents? I don't remember seeing that topps poster before. I have bought and sold three Topps vending machines but they were all from the 1960's. Can you post a pic with it open to see how the vending boxes loaded in.

[Lecomdoc]

Thanks for the reply. Here's the photo. Not sure how many cards are dispensed, I actually haven't played with it too much yet until I knew more about it

[vintagesportscollector]

Very nice! It looks early '80s to me.

[JollyElm]

On a side note, was the pedicure done purposefully to match the red of the machine? Nice touch.

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by vintagesportscollector

Very nice! It looks early '80s to me.

I agree. The graphics scream "80s"

[bigfanNY]

Graphic screens 80's but most card vending machines were made earlier and like in this case modified and refurbished to take advantage of the boom in the late 80's. Looks like a mid sixties machine. Is there any manufacture stamp on the machine. Maybe under or inside?

[bocca001]

Where do the cards come out?

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by bigfanNY

Graphic screens 80's but most card vending machines were made earlier and like in this case modified and refurbished to take advantage of the boom in the late 80's. Looks like a mid sixties machine.

Good point!

[parker1b2]

I remember my local card shop having something similar as a kid in the late 80s early 90s. Where it says pull there is a slot where the cards would come out. The one I remember, the card would come out in a white cardboard folder.

[GoCubsGo32]

Could it be a fantasy piece...for 80's card packs for a local card shop?

[callou2131]

Originally Posted by parker1b2

I remember my local card shop having something similar as a kid in the late 80s early 90s. Where it says pull there is a slot where the cards would come out. The one I remember, the card would come out in a white cardboard folder.

Same. There was always a sign about "winning" A Ken griffey rookie inside etc. No one ever won lol. Always had the white cardboard kind of like the holo sticker machines too

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by GoCubsGo32

Could it be a fantasy piece...for 80's card packs for a local card shop?

Legit machine, but I think the graphics are fantasy, the TOPPS logo is not accurate.

[bigfanNY]

Topps machines had a standard background that you could stick either 2 or 3 different cards too. Based on what was loaded into the machine. Typical was baseball and 2 non sports . You would take vending boxes and fill machines. They have a setting that allows you to set based on thickness how many cards are dispensed. Say 5 or 6 for a nickel. These machines were refurbished to accept quarters and dispense mid 80's cards. I remember my local k mart having 5 or six various card machines in the mid 80's. Candy machines were set up to dispense packs. You would put packs into the turning circles and as they turned the packs would drop. Just like a candy bar.

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by callou2131

Same. There was always a sign about "winning" A Ken griffey rookie inside etc. No one ever won lol. Always had the white cardboard kind of like the holo sticker machines too

Agreed.

This is one of the holographic sticker dispensers from the mid-late 80's. They still have them at my supermarket near the entrance, although they are now .75 cents or a dollar. The price itself says that it was created to be used fairly recently as 50 cents for a single card as a gamble would be 90's on, that would have been a steep price for a kid in the 80's that could have got several packs of cards for that.

This is most likely a repurposed one from a card shop that created the fantasy piece header and had one card in each cardboard folder for customers to gamble on.

I would not guess it was too valuable due to the amount of them around and still in use, maybe 75 to a 100 to someone that really wants one?

You can get those sleeves on amazon if you wanted to get it running for fun -
https://www.amazon.com/EMPTY-Cardboa.../dp/B00DHQ1X9G