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Velvet Mint Gum
(The Taller One)

Velvet Mint Gum Co., Detroit, MI, c. 1910s, 15". My date range on this is an estimate, but I'm 96.314% confident that it's accurate. If it's off, then it errs by being too late, not too early.

Bill Enes said in Silent Salesmen Too that he's "seen this machine in brass or in a nickel-plated version." Both versions are shown above. The body of the machine on the left does not attract a magnet so it appears to be made of nickel-plated brass. That opens up the possibility that the brass machine on the right used to be nickel-plated but the nickel wore away or was removed, as I've seen on a brassed-out Simpson Aristocrat I own that used to be chromed or nickel-plated. The machine above on the right is the one pictured in Silent Salesmen Too, so Bill obviously saw it in person and might have been referring to this one in his comment. The coin slot is the same on both machines and adds a nice touch to the model.

I've never had these machines apart so don't know what the mechanism is made of, but the likely options are pot metal (hopefully not) and cast iron (hopefully yes). The glass on the globes is about a foot thick. All in all, it's a pretty substantial machine.

The plated machine on the left was found with a twin (more about that below). That twin and the two machines pictured above are the only three examples I know of. You can safely surmise from that information that this model is rare.

The observant reader may have noticed another Velvet Mint in the listing, and you can read about it here. In case you think having the same name means they're alike, this picture will disabuse you of that thought. I don't know if the two models were produced concurrently or if one preceded the other.

The example above left is one of two found in an attic in the spring of 2006. The story of that discovery is below. The machine is 100% original and works well.

The example above right came to me through the October 2024 Morphy auction and is also 100% original. As mentioned, it's the one pictured in Silent Salesmen Too.

I love the body on the nickel-plated machine---it's old and in great condition, with great patina. I like the decal on the brass machine better than the torn decal on the plated machine. Some collectors would swap the globes and have the best features of each machine in one, but I won't do that. The plated machine was found with that globe on that body, and they've been together for centuries. They deserve to stay together. The machine on the right is pictured this way in Silent Salesmen Too and deserves to stay together for that reason. Not everyone will agree with me on this, but the machines pictured in that book should remain as pictured. They're not just one of the millions of anonymous machines in collections, they have a history and provenance made special by the fact that it's the one pictured in the book. That preferred status can limit your options if you do want to swap things around, but in my opinion we owe it to the hobby to be exceptional stewards to the specific machines pictured in Bill's book.

I bought the plated machine on the left from my friend Shawn. How he got it is an interesting story. Shawn's extended family has a friend who was involved in estate sales. In that capacity, in the spring of 2006 he went through the house of someone who'd died. After he'd covered the rest of the house he asked the estate representative if there was anything in the attic. "Just a couple of lanterns" was the reply. He went to the attic to check them out and when he got closer he saw that the lanterns had coin slots and and knobs on the side. The lanterns were gumball machines.

He knew Shawn collected things like this. He called Shawn, described the machines, and sent a picture. Shawn knew immediately what they were, and after some discussion he made an offer for the pair. The dealer/friend said he'd run it by the estate representative, who accepted it---apparently with great enthusiasm! I don't know what Shawn paid for the pair but I'm sure it was a lot more than she'd expected for a pair of lanterns. Shawn's not the type to lowball an offer to take advantage of someone's ignorance, so yeah...she was pretty happy with the deal.

Because Shawn's a sensible guy and not a hoarder like some collectors (typed as author looks in mirror), he offered to sell me one of them to help offset his cost in the one he kept. The two lanterns were identical except the one he kept has a full decal whereas mine is missing a piece. I don't think he flipped a coin to decide which one to sell and which to keep.