Marbl-Jax
About This Machine
The Marbl-Jax, manufactured by A.B.T. Manufacturing Company in February 1933, is an early coin-operated, pure mechanical (non-electric) pinball machine built around a horseshoe-pitching theme.
Gameplay on the Marbl-Jax centers on its five-cent play and a horseshoe diverter, combined with a distinctive four-way coin mechanism: each successive nickel is rotated to a different destination, cycling among the location's coin box, one of two coin windows on the door for daily and weekly wins, and the operator's cash box.
The Marbl-Jax was advertised with a solid red cedar cabinet in a natural satin finish, and its game board and dispensing cabinet designs were patented in 1932 by inventors Archie H. Bechtol and Walter A. Tratsch. While relatively little else is documented about this machine, it remains an intriguing artifact from the earliest days of coin-operated pinball, predating the electro-mechanical era that would take hold later in the decade.
Images (51)
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Games - Horseshoes
- Notable Features:
- 5-cent play. Horseshoe diverter (1). Advertised as having a solid red cedar cabinet. Four-way coin mechanism rotates nickels around in the coin mechanism and drops them into successive areas. The first coin will drop into the location's coin box. The second coin drops into the left coin window on the door. The third coin drops into the operator 's cash box. The fourth coin drops into the right coin window on the door. The two coin windows on the door are for the daily win and the weekly. Design Patent D87379 [GAME BOARD] filed May 19, 1932. Granted July 19, 1932 to Archie H. Bechtol and Walter A. Tratsch, Inventors. Design Patent D87380 [DISPENSING CABINET] filed June 3, 1932. Granted July 19, 1932 to Archie H. Bechtol and Walter A. Tratsch, Inventors.