What was this lever used for on my Mills Hi Top

[alan57]

Two questions

1 - Can anyone tell me what the lever was used for on my Mills Hi Top, as my other Hi Tops don't have this lever.

2 - The other picture shows the arm that flicks the coin from the top of the coin tube into the jackpot. The arm is too short, doesn't even fit into the grove at the top of the coin tube anymore. Do you think the small piece of metal screwed to it, is an attempt to make it work? or did it have another purpose?
Did this arm, ( sorry don't know the correct name for it) come in various sizes? depending on the coinage used on the machine.

[coppinpr]

The part has the grand name of "the operating lever stop release wire". It can be used to allow the machine to cycle without a coin. Its main function is to release the operating stop lever if it's become locked up for any reason and stopped the mech from finishing its cycle. If the escalator jams the machine mid cycle, for example, the mech is hard to remove from the case. Using this wire releases the mech from the escalator and completes the cycle so you can get the mech out with ease.

The only reason I can think of for the short reach on the other part would be, as you say, that originally the mech was on a larger coin with a larger tube.
Yours does not look original. It usually looks like the one shown below,

As usual with Mills machines this part also has a posh name for a small part - it's "the coin tube overflow push lever".

[alan57]

Thanks Paul for the information