Agate Game

The Agate Game is a rare survivor from the earliest era of coin-operated pinball, estimated to date from the early 1930s. Manufactured by the Dewey Coin Machine Company of Youngstown, Ohio, it is a pure mechanical, single-player game with no electrical components -- typical of the payout and novelty machines of its time.

Its standout feature was its generous play: a single nickel bought the player ten balls, a notably good value for the era that would have made the game appealing to a broad audience of players.

No designer or theme is documented for the Agate Game, which is unsurprising for a machine this old and obscure. It remains a modest but interesting artifact of pinball's pre-electronic, coin-drop origins.