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Bayles Salted Peanuts

George E. Bayle Co., c. 1910, 27 ¹/₄". I've always liked this model and lusted after one for a long time before I got this one. It sold 5¢ boxes of peanuts and would be just a traditional (and kinda plain) L-vendor were it not for the embossed coin mechanism on the side, but that piece makes a big impact on the machine's overall look and it sets this model apart. Embossed on the front of that mechanism is the following:

Apparently two versions of this machine exist, which I didn't realize until I consulted Silent Salesmen Too before writing this description. The version pictured above is the shorter of the two at a fraction over 27 inches; the other is about 6 inches taller and is purportedly a bit skinnier than this one. It looks like everything else is the same. I don't know which version, if either, is earlier or more common.

The example above is 100% original except for the back door, the painted lettering on the sides, and perhaps the black inpainting on the housing around the turn handle. The new lettering on the example above says "St. Louis, MO" in small letters beneath "Bayle's Salted Peanuts" on the side, and in my opinion that has to be an artist's embellishment. Maybe not the "St. Louis," but the "MO" is. Two-letter state abbreviations weren't adopted until 1963 and I'm sure that "MO" was not being used for Missouri 50 years before that.