What was your best "FREE" piece?

[vintage-air]

I picked up a 7up transitional machine and when i removed the coin door bezel, i found around $75 worth of silver dimes! Not bad when the machine cost me only $250.

[Swachtelncc]

Vintage air,  nice find in the mercury head dimes.

[Larry]

A neighbor, where I grew up, gave me a N.O.S. Nut Hut still in the original sealed box.  He apparently would sell these as a side job back in the seventies.  Then a few years later he gave me another one to give to my folks.  I use mine and my folks used theirs once.  Then they gave it to me.  Moms allergic to nuts.  There's was washed out and sits in a box.  I'll probably give one to each of my kids when they move out.  I usually keep mine out but after I use it or months after when I say "Oh yeah, I should really do this" I will take it all apart wash out the salt in the bottom and wax it.

When my neighbor brought me my folks machine, I asked him if he had any junkers so I can have spare parts.  He brought me two that I gutted.  I noticed that the bottom sides were all rotted by the salt.  So that's why I wash them out.  

[cohammer]

Went by an old friend of my dads . He was the last coca cola sign painter in north Ga. I looked at his collection and when I was leaving he pulled a 1967 coke sign out of a box and gave it to me. Still had the paper on it .

[ClassicCokeLover]

I picked up a 7up transitional machine and when i removed the coin door bezel, i found around $75 worth of silver dimes! Not bad when the machine cost me only $250.

I remember as a kid always getting Mercury Head dimes in change. Haven't seen one in circulation for years. They always had a distinct sound when dropped on the counter.
Nice find!!!

[MoonDawg]

       I would have expected a machine that stole that many dimes, would have been pretty kicked in. 

[flippa]

How did I miss this thread?

This was my best free piece.    It definitely helped to turn me into a more serious collector.

http://soda-machines.com/discussions/index.php/topic,5593.0/all.html

[Eric]

What happened with that?.. Did you sell it? or keep it.. man that was a great find

[SIGNGUY]

Yeah what happened to it...

I was just re-reading that again and even though it was 2006 I was getting excited all over again for ya.. 

would love to hear how it ended up?

[flippa]

I still have it.  I cleaned it up and planned on hanging it in my new office.  I still need to complete the finish work in here, so installing it is still on the "things to do" list.  Funny how long things can get pushed off between being busy with work and after having kids. 

I can't believe it has been almost 8 years.  In hind site, I should have tried to trade it for a RC Vendo 81 back when I first found it.

I have thought about selling it a few times over the years, but it is just too cool to let go.  I know that I will never find another one at that price, and unless I hit the lottery for a large sum of money, would never buy one. 

My kids can fight over my stuff after I am gone.