Even the bar symbols still used on some slot games owe their existence to a fruit-association with early slot machines. The Mills Novelty Company of Chicago, Illinois used a Bell-Fruit-Gum logo for one of its gum products that was popular in these games. The original Mills Novelty Company no longer exists but the name continues in business use today. Feb 21, 2010 Hello, I've discovered this old fruit machine hidden in an old cupboard in my house. It's made by Mills and looks about 1950s. This is a Mills Bell-O-Matic Hi Top, Hi Top being the type of machine of which there were over 100,000 made. Mills slot machine. Post by operator bell » Sun Feb 21, 2010 4:21 am.

Mills Novelty Company Slot Machine Bell Fruit Gum
Mills Bell Fruit Gum Slot Machine Manual
Mills Slot Machine Models
Free Fruit Slot Machines

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Have you ever wondered about the most common slot machine symbols and icons?

Did you know that the slot machine symbols’ meaning are actually quite specific?

The gambling machine industry has a long history of experimentation and innovation. The earliest slots games were invented in the late 1800s and were originally distributed to bars in New York City. Instead of awarding cash prizes they awarded prizes like cigars, free drinks, fruit, gum, and other things you might find in a bar. The slot machine bar meaning is just that you won a piece of chewing gum.

Gum was, in fact, a popular prize among gamblers, and the fruity colors would tell players what kind of gum they were about to receive.

Modern slot machine makers like VGT have retained the fruit symbol because of its long association. There is no particular need for any type of symbol now, however, because modern slot machines are inspired by all types of stories, traditions, and symbols. And the prizes are also usually paid in cash or machine credits, which may be exchanged for cash or merchandise at casino stores.

The term “slot machine” is more commonly used in the United States. For example, in the United Kingdom the machines are usually called “Fruit Machines” and any vending machine that dispenses candies, cigarettes, etc. is called a “slot machine”. Fruit machine symbols are more or less the same as for the other types of games.

The earliest of these games used 5 reels covered with poker cards each and they did not dispense prizes at all. The players inserted a nickel, pulled the handle, and then reported what came up to the bar owners. Each store decided for itself what it would award as a prize and there was much confusion about what the prizes should be.

Charles Fey invented the first 3-reel–The Liberty Bell slot machine. It paid out prizes during the years 1887 to 1895.

The first fruit machine was called a Trade Stimulator and it awarded prizes in the form of gum, candy, and other non-cash items. These machines were favored by stores and saloons, and they were popular in areas that outlawed true gambling machines. The modern vending machine is direct descendant of Trade Stimulators.

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The slot machine cherry might be the most iconic symbol of them all, but I’m also a big fan of the three lemons slot machine–mostly because I like the color yellow so well.

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Mills Novelty Company, Incorporated
Industry	Slot machines, vending machines and jukeboxes
Fate	Divestment (jukeboxes); divestment and merger (slot machines); and acquisition (vending machines)
Successor	Mills Novelty Co. Restores & sells violanos and other Mills products
Founded	1891 (as M.B.M. Cigar Vending Company)
Defunct	1948 (jukeboxes); 1954 (vending machines); and 1980s (slot machines)
Headquarters	Chicago
Herbert Stephen Mills (deceased); Robert W. Brown CEO
Website	millsnovelty.com

The Mills Novelty Company, Incorporated of Chicago was once a leading manufacturer of coin-operated machines, including slot machines, vending machines, and jukeboxes, in the United States. Between about 1905 and 1930, the company's products included the Mills Violano-Virtuoso and its predecessors, celebrated machines that automatically played a violin and, after about 1909, a piano. By 1944 the name of the company had changed to Mills Industries, Incorporated.^[1]^[2] The slot machine division was then owned by Bell-O-Matic Corporation. By the late 1930s, vending machines were being installed by Mills Automatic Merchandising Corporation of New York.

Family[edit]

The origins of the business lie with Mortimer Birdsul Mills, who was born in 1845 in Canada West (today's Ontario, Canada)^[3] but who later became a citizen of the United States, resident in Chicago, Illinois. Mortimer Mills would have 13 children.^[4] One son, Herbert Stephen Mills, was born in 1872 when his father was about 27.^[3] In 1892, Bert E. Mills, the youngest of Mortimer Mill's children was born.^[4] In about 1895, Fred L. Mills, the first of Herbert Mills' sons, was born.^[5]^[6] Ralph J. Mills, Herbert's second son, was born in July 1898.^[6] In about 1900, Herbert Mills, the third son of Herbert Stephen Mills was born. His younger brother, Hayden ('Bill') Mills, was born two years later in about 1902.^[6] The Mills brothers were raised in Oak Park, Illinois, and continued to live in that area until at least the mid-1930s.^[6] In 1929, Herbert Mills had died aged 57, leaving a fortune to his wife and eight children.^[7] The business was continued with Fred L. Mills, Herbert's first son, taking over as president^[8] while his three brothers, Ralph, Herbert, and Hayden held other top management positions.

History[edit]

Mortimer Mills was granted United States patent 450,336 on 14 April 1891 for an improvement in 'coin-actuated vending apparatus'. The improvement allowed the purchaser to select the product being sold and manipulate it so that it was carried to the point of delivery.^[9] Focusing on the devices covered by the patent, Mortimer Mills founded the M.B.M. Cigar Vending Company sometime between 1891,^[3] and 1895.^[4] Over half a century later, the company would promote itself as having been founded in 1889, two years before the date of the patent, and by H.S. Mills rather than his father.^[10]

Mortimer B. Mills's patented 1891 contribution to cigar vending

In 1897, the company launched the Mills Owl, which was the first mechanical upright cabinet slot machine. The machine's design included a circle of owls perched on a lithographed tin wheel. The machine was a great success and the company would later adopt an owl motif as its trade mark.^[11]

In 1898 [1], Mortimer Mills sold a controlling

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Family[edit]

History[edit]

Mills Bell Fruit Slot Machine