Rare seaside slot machines go under the hammer in Louth

Among the collection are these two 1930s amusement machines

A rare collection of seaside amusement arcade machines, some dating back to the 1930s, is to go under the hammer in Lincolnshire.

Among the 25 items is a 1931 Green Ray Television slot machine and a cycle race game, which are being sold at an auction in Louth on Tuesday.

Auctioneers said they were "so rare that just a handful are known to survive anywhere in the world".

The entire collection is expected to fetch £16,000.

James Laverack, of auctioneers John Taylors, said the machines, which were once a feature in amusement arcades on the east coast, particularly in Lincolnshire, East Yorkshire and Norfolk, would have been scrapped if a businessman had not stepped in.

"The collection was started back in the early 1970s when a local businessman was offered a couple of old Cleethorpes Promenade machines that had been in storage for years.

"Thinking he would donate them to a charity group, he paid £20 for the pair and then found he had inadvertently become an antique slot machine owner when his charity said 'no thanks'.

"It was the start of what would turn into a rescue operation."

The Green Ray Television is expected to fetch up to £3,000, according to the auctioneer

The arcades were modernised after decimalisation and, as a result "thousands of machines were being smashed up or dumped".

The Green Ray Television is understood to be one of the rarest slot machines going under the hammer with fewer than a dozen known to be in circulation across the world, according to Mr Laverack.

He said the amusement, which has a label reading "Have your mind read by television" attached, was "one of the most valuable" in the auction.

The Marathon Cycle Race game, in which two players spin wheels to race cyclists around a track, was made in London in 1930. It is believed there are fewer than 10 in existence.

Another rare amusement in the auction is a monkey racing game, produced by a Bridlington firm and various penny-slot machines from the 1930s.

"Several of the rarest are expected to make £2,000-£3,000. Others have pre-sale estimates of £200-£1,200," said Mr Laverack.

Fewer than 10 of the Marathon Cycle Race games are known to have survived