Philip Shefras wall machine list

General vintage slot machine related topics.
pennymachines
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Philip Shefras wall machine list

Post by pennymachines »

The Shefras Novelty Company was founded in 1925 by Solomon Shefras in Bow Common Lane, London. It relocated to 2,4 & 6 Cambridge Road, Mile End Gate, London, E. in 1927, and moved again in 1933 to 39-41 Wickford Street, Aldgate, London, E1., as Shefras Automatics Ltd., with sons Morris and Philip as directors. The company relocated again to 62-63 Fetter Lane, London before War conditions eventually forced the business to close in 1943.

After the war Morris and Philip set up their own companies. See M Shefras (Amusement Machine Mart) wall machine list
By 1948 (at the latest), Philip Shefras Ltd., was founded and operating from Hollybush Place, Bethnal Green, London, serving a post-war demand for slot machine spares. On present evidence, it appears the company also manufactured a distinctive range of well-engineered allwins. (Reformed as Philip Shefras Spares Ltd. from 1991-1999).

Philip was also a director of the Amusement Trades Exhibitions Ltd. founded in 28th November 1938 to promote and organize coin-operated trade fairs and exhibitions

Allwin
Allwin Supreme
Cyclone
Double Your Money
Flash Win
Jackpot
Love Machine
Plentywin
Safari
Win an Aero
Win a (Rowntrees) Gum
Win a Fruit Gum
Win a Fry's Milk Crunch
Win a Kit-Kat
Win a Navy Scotch
Win a Pack of Polo Fruits
Win a Penguin
Win a Rowntrees Polo
Win a Smarties

Posted 11/05/23 & backdated to 25/11/05 to provide machine index heading to topic - Site Admin.
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Re: Philip Shefras allwins

Post by Guest »

Hi,
I have an allwin machine that is similar to a Bryans Elevenses, but is a different brand. I have seen pics on the web that say it is a Jackpot Extrawin, but no one has identified the manufacturer. Can anyone help with the manufacturer and approx age? Note the knob (middle right) to swish the coin shoot in case of a jam - none of the pics I have seen have this knob. The first pic is my machine. The second pic is a similar machine I found on the web.

Thanks!!
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margamatix
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Jackpot Allwin Identification

Post by margamatix »

Hello mate, welcome in.

Can't help you with the ID - I have never seen this style of Allwin before, although I am far from being the most knowledgeable on this forum.

Someone will be along who knows, but do you have any known history, and are there any clues at all about manufacturer (initials etc)?
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Re Jackpot Allwin Identification

Post by pennymachines »

The reference to Extrawin is a red herring. The Jackpot's resemblence to an Amusement Machine Mart (Shefras) Extrawin or Crackerjack, with its similar light wood case and inbuilt topflash, is purely coincidental. I believe your machine was made by Parkers Automatic Supplies Ltd. of Rhyl, but my evidence for this hangs on a thread. I reckon I've seen two other machines with all the characteristic features of the Jackpot which actually have the Parkers signature on them. One of these, I think, was the Jungle Skill.
This was definitely by Parkers. What I need to confirm is that my memory serves me right, and the Jungle Skill has all the Jackpot features. Namely: the bowed wood top above the playfield; the large metal "player control" casting below the playfield and the Bryans-style hinges. Does anyone have one? It would be nice to settle this little riddle.
The confusing thing about Parkers is that over the years they made allwins in several quite different styles - some almost identical to Oliver Whales, others in Odean style cases with elaborate wood veneers.

Date-wise it's the usual vague answer: "Late 1950s". I've seen several ply case versions of the game, like yours. These I guess were made in the 1960s. There seems to have been a period in the 1960s when producing allwins was no longer economically viable. In an effort to cut costs, the few remaining manufacturers resorted to plywood.

I've not seen the coin-clearing addition before. Curious! Although the game pays 12 for the jackpot, the coin chute seems quite adequate.

By the way - I think the Jackpot is a great allwin - one of the best for play value.
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glenndoddy
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Jackpot Allwin Identification

Post by glenndoddy »

Hi all and a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
I have a 'Jackpot' and understand it was manufactured by Oliver Whales of Fun City in the mid '50s.
The patent no. 701/26... It's a great machine... If anyone would like a photo, please get in touch... G.D.
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Re Jackpot Allwin Identification

Post by pennymachines »

Hi Glendoddy,

That's right, I'd forgotten Oliver Whales made a Jackpot allwin. But I think you'll agree it's not the same as the ones pictured above.

The OW version has a fixed jackpot in the form of some coins stuck in a little window behind the backflash - really just a visual indication of what you can win. The "Parkers", on the other hand, has a cylinder filled with twelve coins which rotate out of sight for a moment when you win, giving the appearance of an automatic reloading jackpot.

Maybe you could post a picture of your machine here for comparison.
I wonder what innovation the patent refers to.
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Re Jackpot Allwin Identification

Post by coin-op »

Actually, I think Oliver Whales made two versions of their Jackpot allwin, as there is another version which is called 'Double Jackpot' (see pic). I think the Double Jackpot was very late as it has a sweet payout. This was original to this machine and actually came with one other like it and another which had not even had the holes put into the cabinet for the flicker/payout handles and cup to be fitted. Maybe the last Oliver Whales machine ever? :D
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Re Jackpot Allwin Identification

Post by pennymachines »

Two more from the Jackpot stable for comparison: Plentywin and Pot Luck. Distinguishing features - the bowed wooden piece above the backflash, Bryan's style door hinges, beechwood case, and the cast metal plate around the ball trigger, payout knob and payout cup.
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plentywin.jpg
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Last edited by duckiezoo22f on Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:54 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re Jackpot Allwin Identification

Post by JC »

The 'Pot Luck' allwin above is actually a 'Double Your Money'. Clearly, the top flash isn't original, and whoever made it probably didn't know the machine's correct name.

Anyone interested in learning more about these allwins should consult issue 3 of Mechanical Memories Magazine. Unfortunately, we still haven't discovered the manufacturer of these 'mystery machines' which include: Jackpot; Double Your Money; Double Your Win; Plentywin and Safari.

Jerry :D
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Re Jackpot Allwin Identification

Post by pennymachines »

An expert replies:

I have looked closely at [these] machines and to be quite honest, I do not know. At a guess I would say they were made by an independent arcade owner/operator, Solly Parker first started out making machines for his own operation before he started selling them, but his machines were made from parts that were bought from Oliver Wales and R & W, I was friendly with his son Brian. The hinges are clearly Bryans, they were the best hinges and a favorite with traveling showmen like my Father, it was easy to lift the front of off the machine cabinet when we had to carry them to a lorry to pack them on the fairground. My uncle Oliver Avyard sold his amusement park at Burnham Beeches to John Lovat who made several machines for his arcade in the park, If I did not know better I would say the bottom casting was Bradley but the time frame is wrong, they are clearly late 1950s early 1960s. Also one reason I would tend to lean towards an arcade/operator being the manufacturer is that he used the best hinges, the best Gallery and a metal plate to strengthen the trigger, payout cup and coin return handle, plus the slope on the coin entry making it a good trouble free operating machine. My Father used to buy Jennings Little Dukes and put them into a modern wooden cabinet, also because of the weight of the Jennings steel cabinet it was lighter once again to carry to the lorry on the fairground. Tomorrow I will ask Derek Horwood of United Distributing Company in London. Derek's Father owned Chicago Automatic Supply, one of the founders of the British coin machine industry, I bought my first machine from them 55 years ago.

Thanks for that Freddy. Bradley is an interesting idea, after all, they were still making wall machines (in light wood cases) in the 50s and 60s - e.g. the Super Challenger.

For the record here's the Safari, the Double Your Money (with correct top-flash) and another one - the Storm.
I think the Double Your Win was a Kraft/Shefras product in the same line as the Extrawin etc. and doesn't belong to this set. A confusingly similar name.
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safari.jpg
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Storm1.jpg
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Win a Pack of Fruit Polos

Post by arrgee »

Topic merged - Site Admin.

Just thought you would like to see my latest machine acquired few days ago. Oliver Whales fruit polo, the only problem is that the size of the modern polos will not fit as they are too long. I have found that 'love hearts' will fit if one sweet is taken out either end, and as the outer wrapper is only twisted this is quite easy to do. Mechanism is lovely and built as if it were part of an engine not a slot machine ! I suppose that's why it weighs a ton.

I am guessing but I would put the machine mid to late 1950s based on the style of the girls swimwear, perhaps someone could verify, or not. It is my first Whales (I understand it is O.W. but I cannot find any makers name) and I do not know much about the history of them. If anybody out there could elaborate I would be grateful. Did these companies have to get formal clearance from sweet manufacturers for these machines to dispense the manufacturers sweets?

Arrgee
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Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by daveslot »

These are not made by Olly Whales - I don't know who made them, but there are a few variations. I will attach a pic of an O.W. Fruit Polo.
Pic232.JPG


3olly.JPG

I put the wrong picture on, then tried to edit it, then got both! Still it gives you an idea of what Olly Whales should look like.
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Re Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by arrgee »

Thanks for the info Daveslot, few nice machines there. The cases look quite similar to mine but I can see that the metalwork is different. I have attached a couple of pics showing the inside of my machine and wondered whether O.W. could have produced the mechanism for another allwin producer of these machines, how does it compare with your machines mechanism?.

I was given to understand that O.W. machines had a clear plastic cover over a part of the mechanism, which is present in mine.

Arrgee
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Re Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by JC »

Actually, I think two of Daveslot's machines are Whales (as well as the Fruit Polo). In the picture of three, the one on the left - Win a Crunch, and the one on the right - can't see what it's called due to flash, both appear to be Whales. The trademark of Whales backflashes are the large, fat arrows above the hammer box, which is shown on both of these machines.
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Re Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by daveslot »

Yours are definitely not OW - I have seen a few from your manufacturer but they have all been in plywood cases. I suspect yours has been put in an oak cabinet to make it look more attractive - there were a lot of oak Parkers' cases around a few years ago that would fit this machine. I have added a couple of pics from the same manufacturer. Does anyone know who made these?
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Re Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by pennymachines »

That's interesting Dave. Although they don't have the characteristic lower casting or Bryans-style hinges of the Jackpot, Safari, Double Your Money, Plentywin and Storm, the coin slot, ply and odd bow-topped playfield frames clearly point to the same stable. On Arrgee's game only the coin slot and prize-payout casting look un-Olly Whales, but your pictures bridge the gap, making a connection between all eight of these allwins.

Now this mystery manufacturer is emerging as a significant player, it's all the more frustrating we know nothing about them.

A few weeks ago a Jackpot on eBay was attributed to Robinson & Co. Someone emailed the vendor to say this was probably the distributor and the maker was Kraft. I'm sure this is incorrect, as so-called Kraft allwins (Extrawin, Crackerjack etc.) are quite distinctive in their own way. Besides, I think they were made by Amusement Machine Mart (Shefras). I've yet to see evidence that Kraft made any allwins although they distributed them. But that's another story.
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Re Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by daveslot »

I will throw in a couple more then. The gum one looks like it was recased at some time.
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Re Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by arrgee »

Interesting thread here. Dave, your Win a Gum looks exactly like my Fruit Polo, all the metalwork and the case, with the exception of the penny entry slot which is the same as an O.W. penny entry casting, although it is not set at an angle as mine is.

How are the pennies collected in Win a Gum In my machine there is no thin metal collection chute below the coin guide as in many allwins, but the penny guide is quite long (see earlier attached photo) and discharges just above the wooden inner shelf with the pennies falling straight through a hole cut in the shelf.
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Re Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by daveslot »

The mech was the same as yours. They seem to be better made than the OW. The whole mech is well engineered, particularly the payout, suggesting they made quite a few, or intended to.
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Re Philip Shefras? allwins

Post by pennymachines »

Ditto the coin payout ones. Better engineered and like Arrgee's sweety mech they have a simpler, more robust ball release system than the O.W. ratchet and palletwheel design which was based on the rather antiquated Walther Rudolf patent of 1914.
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