Punch to Win

QUESTION: My grandfather ran a corner bar. Every afternoon, as men and women would come in from work for a drink before heading home for dinner, he would lay out several punchboards on the bar. For the price of a penny to two bits (25 cents), a player could take a chance to win up to $500. Using a stylus, the player pushed the punch completely through the foil to dislodge a paper message through the back of the board, which the player read, then collected his winnings, but more often than not, discarded in disgust. What can you tell me about these punchboards? Where and when did they originate? And why don’t we play them today?

ANSWER: Punchboards were an early form of lottery game boards used in the 18th century. Though lotteries were as popular back then as they are today, they required a large number of players to be profitable. To enable one or several people to play, a local tavern owner would construct a game board out of wood eight inches square and half an inch thick, then drill small holes in it and fill them with small rolled pieces of paper on which he had written a number. He then covered the holes with paper. After a customer bought a chance at the punchboard, usually for a penny or a nickel, he would puncture one of the hole's paper covers with a nail and retrieve the piece of paper with a number on it. If the number matched those posted, the customer won a cash prize.

As time went on, tavern owners got greedy and realized they could punch the holes with the biggest prizes and keep the money for themselves since they had made the boards. If anyone asked who won the big prize, he would just claim that it was a stranger and put a new board up the next day. Some tavern owners went a step further and didn’t put any winning numbers their boards. Players eventually caught on to this and stopped playing punchboards.

C.A. Brewer and C.C. Scannell of Chicago patented the modern punchboard in 1905.These new punchboards, made of cardboard, had paper covering both the front and back of each hole to help prevent operators from cheating. They came with a metal stylus and became popular purchases at drugstores, bars, and barbershops, much like today’s lottery tickets sold at convenience stores.

Although punchboards had been around for many years, they had never been so available or so portable. Brewer and Scannell created their punchboards so that one customer could play a lottery, with no contribution necessary from anyone else. This enabled the punchboard's owner/operator to sell chances to one customer at a time, and to immediately tell how much he had won, without waiting for all the punchboard numbers to be sold.

The invention of board stuffing machines and ticket folding and plaiting machines in the late 1910s allowed punchboard manufacturers to produce them cheaply. From 1910 to 1915, over 30 million punchboards were sold.

The concept of the punchboard had been around for many years before 1905. Many bar and pool hall owners making their own punchboards, drilling a few holes in a wooden board, then stuffing small pieces of rolled paper into each hole. Unfortunately, the customer only had the punchboard owner’s word that there was a winning number in at least one of the remaining non-punched holes, a fact that often just wasn’t true. Too often the owner/maker of the homemade punchboard would punch out the winning hole for himself, or he wouldn’t even have bothered to put a winning number in any hole. Profits from these homemade punchboards were very high.



Many people soon realized these homemade punchboards were probably fraudulent, thus the popularity of punchboarding declined. It took the invention of punchboard manufacturing machines, which could cover both sides of the board with a sheet of undamaged paper, to convince customers to return to punchboard gambling.

The mass-production of punchboards led to a general standardization of shapes and a standardization of the themes that helped identify different manufacturers' boards. Although most boards were rectangular in shape, their themes were unique. Some of the successful themes featured drawings of shapely pinups, and titles that implied that certain boards offered big payoffs, such as Win u Ruck, Barrel of Winners, and Sweepstakes Parley. Some punchboards had themes featuring racy drawings and titles such as Easy Double, Big Gusher, and Lady Your Fat is Showing.

Some punchboards had as many as 10,000 holes, and some as few as 25. Some paid out prizes instead of money, such as cigarettes, and some guaranteed that everyone was a winner. But they all had one thing in common—their calculated average gross profit or what the board's owner could expect as his profit when he sold all the holes and gave out all the prizes.  Not had, in an era when lunch cost 25 cents and a gallon of gas cost 10.

Punchboard sales declined significantly after WWII, as many states made them illegal.  Many manufacturers attempted to disguise the gambling nature of the boards by stating that prizes were "for trade only" and not redeemable for cash. Cigarette, cigar, and beer companies used punchboards as an advertising medium, featuring packages of cigarettes or bottles of beer as prizes on their punchboards instead of cash. While some of these boards were operated as advertising gimmicks, most were still played for cash.

Despite the millions of punchboards produced, it’s difficult for collectors to find non-punched or unusual punchboards because most were simply thrown away when their original owner felt the board would no longer sucker another coin from an unwitting player.

 prices range from a couple of dollars far a board with dog-eared edges and faded colors, up to several hundred dollars for a non-punched board in pristine condition. As with most collectibles, condition is important in a punch-board's cost. And  some punchhoard themes have remained consistently more desirable, therefore more costly.

Though there have been numerous lottery-type games invented over the years, non fired the imagination o f gamblers and collectors like the punchboard.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 24,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about vintage games in the 2019 Holiday Edition, "Games, Games, and More Games," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Sport of Kings

QUESTION: I love horses. When I was about 8 years old, my dad took me to a horse race. Ever since I’ve gone to horse races whenever I can, especially some of the famous ones like those if the Triple Crown. I especially like going to the Kentucky Derby. Over the years, I’ve collected an assortment of memorabilia from these races—tickets, programs, souvenirs. I’ve never seen anything written up about them, so I’m not sure if any of this stuff is even collectible. Can you tell me what might be collectible? I’d love to get serious and start a real collection.

ANSWER: True, there hasn’t been much written about horseracing collectibles. But as with any other sport or event, there’s certainly plenty of memorabilia floating around. While the items you have directly relate to specific races, there are others that relate to specific horses and race tracks. To understand just what treasures are out there, we have to go back to see how this all started.

The history of racing on mounted horses dates back to ancient Greece and Rome. But it was the English in the 12th century that began to selectively breed horses. In 1110, Henry I, King of England, imported an Arabian stallion from Spain, which he mated with English mares to breed horses suitable for warfare. As the breeding continued, the horses evolved into sleek racers.

Informal races between purebred mounts became popular, and in 1174, Smithfield Track, the first public racecourse built since Roman times, was constructed in London. The race horses eventually became bred out or “thoroughly bred.” Breeders realized that they couldn’t make them any better or faster through breeding and thus called them thoroughbreds. Thoroughbred racing subsequently became a favorite pastime of English nobility and was soon dubbed “the sport of kings.”



In 1730, a Virginia plantation owner imported a 21-year-old stallion named Bulle Rock. his arrival marked the beginning of many mares and stallions being imported to the colonies for the purpose of racing and breeding. Major horse centers developed in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas, and even presidential candidates caught the fever.

America's interest in horse racing continued unabated, and its passion for the pastime was evidenced by more than 750 lithographic prints produced by the firm of Currier & Ives. One of the most famous horses of the mid-19th century was Lexington, bred by Dr. Elisha Warfield, who historians consider the Father of the Kentucky Turf. Currier & Ives published the print “The Celebrated Horse Lexington by "Boston" out of Alice Carneal, circa 1855.”

During the Civil War, all horseracing stopped because both armies needed many horses for battle. But in 1867, the first running of the Belmont Stakes occurred in New York, and racing gradually spread south and west. The first Kentucky Derby happened in 1875, and in 1894 the Jockey Club, patterned after the British Jockey breeding of thoroughbred horses while maintaining high ethical standards in horse racing, was formed and incorporated in New York State. Although the Jockey Club brought order to the sport, by the turn of the 20th century a reformist sentiment that disapproved of gambling was gaining momentum. Many states made bookmaking illegal, and by 1908 only 25 American and six Canadian racetracks remained open. By 1913, racing had returned to Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, and although World War I diminished the amount of racing activity, the pastime continued.



From 1919 to 1920, a colt named Man o' War dominated the American horse racing scene, setting several American track records. He won by as much as 100 lengths, and lost only once in 21 starts in 1919 to a horse named Upset. After amassing nearly $250,000 in winnings, Man o' War’s owner retired him to stud in 1920. Racing enthusiasts consider Man o' War to be the greatest race horse that ever lived. Other  horses of the 20th century that have great collectiblity include Secretariat, Seabiscuit, Citation, and Kelso.

The book and subsequent film about Seabiscuit catapulted him to the spotlight and his collectibles soared in popularity. Today, the program from his final race at the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap sells for over $1,000.

In fact, racehorses are the primary influencer in the value of a racing program. Due to their age, Man o' War programs seldom turn up, and collectors should expect to pay $3,000 to $12,000 depending on the race and condition of the program. Although Secretariat progras are more common, they stilml. command high prices. His 2-year-old races in 1972 start at $300 and a mint, unused Kentucky Derby program will still fetch $250, even though thousands were printed.

Condition, age, rarity, race, and to a much lesser extent, the actual racecourse. Here, Kentucky Derby programs are winning by a wide margin. Pre-1929 Derby programs are extremely rare, and start at over $2,000. Programs from Triple Crown winning years— the year in which one horse wins the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes—go for five times what the same program goes for if there’s no winner.

Unfortunately, betting, itself, is a high-stakes sport, resulting in a number of fake collectibles. One item that’s particularly prevalent in the fake market is the lapel pin, first produced in the 1980s. Each of the major races now has one of these little souvenirs. For instance, fake ones exist for the 1985 and 1986 Breeder’s Cup, but the lapel pins weren’t even made for it until 1988.

There’s an endless variety of authentic items available for those who love the sport. Posters, prints, weather vanes and sculptures depicting racehorses are always of interest, as are race-specific items, such as Kentucky Derby glasses. There are even elaborate board games, such as the Saratoga Sweepstakes Horse Racing Game with coin dispenser, six numbered horses and riders, and three iron gates and a finish line.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about western antiques in the special 2019 Spring Edition, "Down to the Sea in Ships," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques & More Collection on Facebook.  

A Penny a Pack

QUESTION: I recently discovered what looks like a toy slot machine while browsing in a local thrift shop. But instead of different types of fruit in the window, it shows packs of cigarettes.  The machine is painted bright red and blue with silver accents. An emblem showing a sophisticated lady smoking a cigarette appears on the front under the window. What can you tell me about my new toy?

ANSWER: To begin with, your little slot machine isn’t a toy. It’s what’s called a trade stimulator, an item certain businesses used to stimulate business.

Trade stimulators were countertop machines used to encourage shoppers to indulge in a game of chance. They became popular in American saloons during the 1880s. Eventually, cigar, confectionery and general store owners saw their potential for generating business and began using them. Produced in a wide range of designs, these little machines originated around the same time as slot machines. Players inserted a coin and pulled a lever. If they got a winning combination, they won prizes of cigars, cigarettes, candy and other goods. When certain states prohibited gambling, business owners could use these machines without fear of prosecution.

The Groetchen Tool & Manufacturing Company in Chicago, one of many companies that manufactured these little machines, produced a variety of models of trade stimulators from 1936 through 1948. This particular one is known as the Liberty Bell or just Liberty. It stood 10 inches tall, 9 inches wide, and 10 inches deep and weighed about 14 pounds. The Liberty dispensed tokens for l or 5 packs of cigarettes. The three reels in the Liberty Bell have pictures of seven different brands of cigarettes. On the front cover of the slot machine is the image of a sophisticated lady smoking a cigarette that’s almost Art-Deco looking.

Many of these trade stimulators used tokens rather than coins, also known as mints. In many cases, players could exchange these tokens, especially ones marked “mints” for cash "under the counter." Other tokens displayed the words “candy” or “cigarettes” and could be exchanged for them.

J. H. Keeny & Company, which made amusement and gambling machines in Chicago, also produced the tokens used in trade simulators. In the 1960s, the Mills Novelty Company bought J.H. Keeny & Company.

Some machines also disguised themselves as vending machines by giving winners cigarettes or cigars rather than mints. For only one cent, the customer could play the machine by inserting the penny and pulling the handle. If they would line up three of a kind on the reels than the machine dispensed a special token good for a pack of cigarettes at the lower right side of the machine.

To further hide that a machine gave winners cigarettes, some tokens had different numbers of stars rather than saying “2 packs” or 5 packs.” Groetchen also made a trade stimulator machine called the Ginger, which appeared on the market in June of 1937 and took the star tokens. The stars disguised the gambling nature of the machine. As with the mints tokens, it was probably possible to exchange tokens for cash, at least at some businesses.

So what’s a Liberty Bell Penny Cigarette Slot Machine worth?  The "Liberty" Trade Stimulator dates from the early 1940's. The basic model of this machine came in many different configurations, and model types. Many still exist today. This trade stimulator still holds it's own with an average value of $200 in today’s market, despite surviving in great numbers.

During the peak of popularity for trade stimulators, a lot of companies copied each others’ models and gave them different names. However, collectors today are well aware of the many reproduction trade stimulators that have been flooding the market. Even though some began to appear as early as the late 1970’s, most came on the market in the mid-80’s.