After Joseph Fourestier Simpson invented and then received his patent for Skee-Ball on December 8, 1908, he made a deal with John W. Harper and William Nice Jr. to build, sell and promote the game. Harper and Nice set up a company named the “Skee-Ball Alley Company,” which initially operated out of an office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Harper built and marketed the alleys, while Nice was supposed to be the “deep pockets” investor. These original alleys came with a scoring device and coin box. The coin box took nickel sized coinage, including tokens. Harper had tokens made specifically for the Skee-Ball Alley Company.
Although the token has the name of the company as the “Skee-Ball Co.” on the token, the address is the same as Harper’s corporate address in Philadelphia, 533 Chestnut Street. Presumably they couldn’t fit the full name of the company on the token and abbreviated it, as they did with the city name, “Philada.”
On the back of the token, it states the obvious: “Good For One Game Skee-Ball.”
The coin box feature was terrific for operators and revolutionary for the arcade games at the time time, eliminating the need for an attendant to hand out balls and take coins. But Harper had no end of trouble setting up the coin box. In August of 1910, he wrote in a letter to Simpson:
Dear Simpson,
I enclose you 2 different kind of keys for coin boxes. I am sure 1 opens the box I set out to put on alley. I do not think you will have any trouble in adjusting box as I have had all the trouble a person could have adjusting it when it was first placed. When they come to move [the] alley, remember the screw into the floor at tapered end of trough.
And this coin box, along with the integrated ball release, was about to make history.
Token Specs.
- Size: 21mm
- Composition: Brass
- Shape: Round
About the author:
Thaddeus Cooper is the co-author of Seeking Redemption: The Real Story of the Beautiful Game of Skee-Ball, a deep dive into the history of the game. You can find more information about Thaddeus, and his co-author, and their book, at: http://www.nomoreboxes.com/.