The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I was interested in this coin-op Monarch that just finished on ebay. It has the classic G&T Monarch Senior/Victor Special case and the 'fluted' columns suggest it may have the 3 spring motor rather than the single-spring (and sometimes double-spring) motor versions that were only available in Europe.

Just after it was listed I wrote to the seller asking for pictures of the motor and the inside. Indeed I asked if there was even a motor (or much of one). The seller wasn't able to help and this is the problem with sellers who have nearly 2000 auctions running! So the pictures I have posted is as good as it gets. Not even the winding side was pictured.

I believe the metal bar that goes across the turntable lifted the travelling arm when it reached the end of the record and slid it back to the beginning. The last picture of the underside shows where the coin drawer would have been.

So I wonder if this was actually a Deutsche Grammophon product or was it converted to coin-op by another company? This sometimes happened. Looking through the 1903 DG catalogue there is nothing quite the same as this although there are a number coin-ops listed. I would be fascinated to hear what other people think.

Seasons Greetings to All. Jamie

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E79a32-Coin- ... true&rt=nc

This appears to be a single spring travelling arm G&T Monarch of the period 1901 to 1903. As far as I know, the factory did not offer a coin operated version of this machine, so the coin-slot mechanism was probably an after market conversion.

Demand for G&T coin-slot models had declined by 1905, as German manufacturers were producing similar and often cheaper devices in quantity.