Steve it appears your Bally ballyhoo was made for 1947 prices range from a low end $200 to a high end of $550 it is not known or estimated how many units were produced at this time

well it's listed as a flipperless game however around this time postwar 1947-48 flipper bats start to show up, also to make things even more chaotic some older games were re - fitted with the new flippers to keep in them in circulation earning coin.
does your game have flippers? and are they in the right place?
at first glance you would say NO, they put them through the 'pretty lady' art work at the lower Playfield, must be some holyroller's idea of a censor ? Right?

Ahhh but if you look at the Ad from that pin you can clearly see the lower 'bats' are at the correct location.

Your new to pinball but every veteran has to figure out what was factory/stock or added/hacked.
does it effect value? Perhaps not to the right person

1947_bally_ballyhoo_ad.jpg

On top of the page is a 'topic' with links for parts venders that pinsiders have used in the past and found to be good. Also some of the members can point you in the right direction when it comes to cabinet restro - I've seen some fantastic looking art work on site.

On the good side - the backglass and playfield are in really good shape
on the down side - legs, coindoor area, door bell flipper switch, and side art
but thats all minor.

the evils of Gambling?
I have warning labels on an old woodrail I'm still fooling around with to something of the same extent ..............

from some of the old timers I've talked to years ago- "... the reason you come across pins with mis-matched coin doors like from other machines is that when vending companies sold a pin to the public or just got rid of them they didn't want the games coming back on locations earning $"

Also do you have any insight on why minors werent allowed to play?

Stevemezz, your game is most likely this one:

http://ipdb.org/search.pl?name=ballyhoo&yr=1947&searchtype=advanced

Minors weren't allowed to play because pinball, before the invention of the flipper in 1947, was a gambling game. From 1933, when pinball became a mainstay, till 1947, it was flipperless and basically a gambling game.

Not many games had actual payout mechanisms. However, if you earned credits you could trade them in to the shop owner. It was sort of a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of thing. You could get money, a pack of cigarettes or gum, or whatever.

After flippers, Bally started making "bingo" games, which also had no flippers. They were very popular and made Bally a ton of money. Those persisted into the 50s and 60s.

Believe it or not, there are still some locations that have them today! I know of a couple in the SF Bay Area.

The Pacific Pinball Museum has a couple of Bingos. The previous owner? A cop who busted the operators!

- jonny o

Generally speaking, pre-flipper games have rather niche appeal so it's value would likely be in the hundreds, not the thousands. There's always super rare and sought after games which are exceptions, but I don't know anything specific about your particular game.

Richard Conger is pretty much the biggest collector of pre-flipper games. He brought around 20 to PPE 2010. Here is his history seminar from PPE 2009.

http://pinballnews.com/shows/ppe2009/richardconger.mp3

I'd have to agree with jonnyo it is a rather small group that collects those.

I did see a pre war page on the net you might find interesting has some good photos

http://www.angeltone.com/prewarpinball/index.html

I read it's now part of the yahoo group - good luck

Hey autumnfade, why have you reverted back to HELLODEADCITY?

When they were first introduced they were called "Flipper bumpers" or "flipper skill bumpers" in the advertisements for that reason. Later it was shortened to just "flippers".

Here is an ad: http://tinyurl.com/3k4hobr

That's actually a LATE Ballyhoo, not to pick nits or anything The early one was from 1933.

Here's a link to my 1933 Bally Blue Ribbon restoration which may encourage you to continue your effort;
http://www.passionforpinball.com/blueribbon.htm

They can be saved and you can have a lot of fun doing it!

Fantastic link Cliffy - thanks
Really digg the new leg photos