Bryans Bullion

[polaris]

I toyed with the idea of getting one of these for some time and always ended up buying something else. Anyway, finally got one in excellent condition (same owner last 30 years) and what a fantastic piece of engineering. Not the best looking machine though... Were these made in vast numbers? Mine is no. 771.

[13rebel]

According to Paul Braithwates book 'Arcades and slot machines' (a 'must have' publication in my opinion), the Bullion was produced from 1963 and 862 were made - a streamlined version was also made. My calculations show that it returned a percentage of 68.6...generous for the era. Many were converted to new money and paid a maximum of 10p.

[13rebel]

PS..The book as mentioned above is available from the 'library' link on this site.

[pennymachines]

Not the best looking machine though...

At least yours is in the red fleck finish - a bit nicer in my opinion than the yellow fleck. They put out a few (possibly to special order) in a hardwood cabinet.

[slotsoffun]

I too owned one of these, it's mechanism was far more complex and clever than the other Bryans (except Payramid), I loved the fact you could gamble on more than one outcome. As for the looks...Yuk, I'm not a fan of many of the Bryan's range of machines as they just look odd or out of place in an amusement arcade, especially the Fruit Bowl and the Clock, what were they all about.. they were more like pieces of furniture in a stately home!!!!
The Allwins (Elevenses, Five Win, Gap etc..) did look nice...

But one reason why I've owned most of the Bryans range over the years, was purely for the sheer cleverness of the man and his inventive mechanisms in all his machines.

[chris rideout]

I remember playing on the Bullion in my schooldays. One of the faults was the wind-up mechanism which would misbehave. The arcade attendant would often groan and have a 5 minute fiddle to put it back in order.

[longbobongo]

The Bullion is a cracking machine, so underpriced for the amount of machine you're getting. Mine seems to attract the most attention out of my collection along with the Bryans Clock.