Early 50G with 50A upper

[Payphone installer]

This is a early 50G conversion from a 50A upper. Note the screws tapped in the upper housing.

[RotarDad]

Jim - Somehow I missed this post - nice pay station!  What is the story on the open nickel slot?

[HarrySmith]

Very nice! What are the screws in the upper housing for?
Repeat question; why is the nickle slot open?

[Stan S]

That top was originally for a 50A. The 50A didn't have a dial. The four screws mounted the instruction card frame.

The open slot for the nickel allowed whatever was put in the it to be slid up and out. When a call was a nickel certain coins (not US coinage) and knockouts from electrical boxes (slugs) were used to try and make calls. The value of the coins (and the slugs) were far less than 5 cents.

As told to me a long time ago those coin gauges were very accurately machined to only allow a legitimate US nickel to slide through it. If a bogus coin (non US coinage) or a slug was put in the slot, it got caught in the gauge and wouldn't fall into the coin track.

Since the slot was open the bogus coin could be slid up and out of the slot. If the nickel hole wasn't open the bogus coin would jam the nickel slot and put the payphone out of service.

Stan S.

[RotarDad]

Stan - Thanks for the detail there.  Interesting that they didn't widely use that open nickel slot, even though it was many years before they added the washer reject "star wheels" and the coin release button.  I guess the coin tracks were precise enough to prevent most "payment avoidance" efforts.  Precise enough that they needed different tracks for US and Canadian phones, even though the coinage is very similar - I do seem to remember a multi-sided (not round) nickel back in the 60s though...... is that reason for the "H" versus "G" versions?

[Stan S]

Paul
I just spent the last half hour trying to find sales info on an aftermarket coin gauge with all three slots open at the top. As usual I can't find what I'm looking for but I'm sure it will turn up when I no longer need it.

The gauge was tall. It was heavy and had a bright chrome finish with a riveted sheet metal back. All three slots were open. The body was hollow and held permanent magnets. I don't know on which side of the Canadian/ US border they were used. I do know that when the exchange rate changed these gauges were rebuilt and the magnets pulled out. Apparently with the increases in the cost of phone calls and the changes in the exchange rate, coin gauges were constantly being modified and changed.

I think there was a small Canadian nickel that was about the size of a US dime. The Canadian coin tracks were built to accept the small dime and all US coinage.

[Stan S]

Paul
I gave up on what I was looking for but I did find a blurb about it in Ron Knappen's Payphone History book.

[RotarDad]

Stan - I've seen those open tall gauges on several phones online.  I think Mike Davis has one on his website - certainly a specialized item.  I did a bit of research on Canadian nickels.  I did find that Canada used the metal nickel starting in 1922 (1921 and prior were silver, and therefore smaller as you mentioned), but switched to primarily steel during World War 2 and the Korean war.  These steel coins would obviously be magnetic.  The 12-sided version I remembered was made from '42-'63 - not sure if those created issues.  Interestingly, Canada returned to steel (nickel-plated) nickels in 2000.

[RotarDad]

Stan -I found Mike Davis' phone, a 197G:

http://www.mvtelonline.com/items/Paystations/WE%20197GS%20%20Unusual%20Gauge

Thank for finding the info in Ron's book.  The blurb mentions the magnetic qualities of Canadian nickels.

[RotarDad]

Here's that very tall open coin gauge on an NE phone that sold today on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201587750631

Kinda ruins the artful look of the phone imho....