FORUM

Anyone know what the name of mechs where you have to press in a button and a bar recedes, allowing the game piece to fall?
I've been calling them "drop bar" machines but would love to learn more.

There is a UK one for sale here: https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/antike-spie ... 151665356/

I first noticed this type of gameplay in some 1970s Japanese machines, but have seen other earlier European machines employ it.

For the archives, here are the photos:

BTW same seller has an 1892 Nickle Tickler for sale
https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/nickle-tick ... 151531710/


This is an American machine though, and so priced way higher than what they go for in America.

There are versions of this machine without the spring-loaded wheel:
https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/Lot ... yid=248175


https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/Lot ... yid=184321


And with the wheel, it sold for $1586 USD 3 years back: https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/Lot ... yid=248183

Generally, a game where the coin is the projectile is known as a 'drop case' machine. One with the 'drop bar' you mention and depict would I think be called a 'retracting shelf' machine or perhaps a drop case machine with retracting shelf. An allwin called 'Sitas' incorporates both elements of an allwin and a retracting shelf.

drop shelf, got it!

There is a thread: Sitas Allwin - Drop shelf

In America they also used the drop shelf in a variety of EM arcade games from the 1950s.
the latest I've seen of the gimmick was in the 1970s. Most prominently with the Allied Leisure pinball machines Sea Hunt and Spooksville, and with at least one (extremely rare) pachinko machine in Japan.

There's a section of the Museum devoted to British Dropcase games.
The game in your first post sold for £380 on the 21st August 2016 at the Elephant House. It was catalogued as Price and Castell, c.1900.