I love my buc ... but that cabinet art is beautiful!!

yes that is the first sample game - wow - have never seen a #1.

closest I have come is #6 for gottlieb happy clown from 1964

01003 King of Diamonds, buddy dropped it off for some work

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Now that's an interesting pick up! Maybe more pics when able.
Any differences on the backglass?

The cabinet art is very cool. Congratulations on a neat find!

It looks like the spinner art is also different than the traditional one?

Nice looking machine! How’s the backglass?

That's extra cool since it's different from the pics of another sample game on IPDB...definitely contact Jay...

Take a look under the playfield for hand layout pencil traces showing where to put the wires.

I had a engineering prototype sample Southern Belle that had the original pencil layout lines of all the wires, sockets, etc. showing the assembler where to put everything. The s/n showed it may have been a prototype game before the sample games were made.

I have never seen any other game with this. Maybe yours has the manual layout lines too?

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The ipdb guys would probably like some of your photos

Jay Stafford is the guy at IPDB. There is a form on the website for submitting photos, but you can also email them to him: [email protected]

Nice find.
Thanks for sharing this with the EM circle.
Looks awesome!

Curious- did you know this was a proto before buying it, or were you just responding to the seller about a game for sale? The past two I have come across, were me just buying a game from 'jon doe' homeowner that did not know what they had and it was just getting a game out of the house that had been there for some time.

Nice machine and nice find- congrats.

Were samples routinely purchased by operators and put in service? Looking back now it is easy to see the collectibility of them but at that time I doubt that someone would want a machine that looked so different than the one in the fliers (different colors, features, etc).

So what does "sample" do to the value? Certainly different for "A" list versus B list, C list. 20% premium on a A list"

Gottlieb gave these types of sample/proto type games to vendors, operators, pinball parts contractors, friends, family and sometimes their employees...that did great business with them.

Sometimes Gottlieb would put them at location that had lots of profits......to see if the players like the game and to see if the game would be a hit with the players....so could get an idea if they should produce/manufacture the game etc.

Some went to other Countries etc....

Looks like it. The other side is probably just the cannonball itself. The two images animate when the spinner spins.

Would you mind taking a picture of the other side, too?

Yes please - picture of other side of spinner

Here was my go at doing one for my buc

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/could-it-be-more-em-mod-blasphemy#post-3208684

In my eyes there is nothing wrong with someone having (or keeping) sample machines or other oddities in personal collections. But as suggested earlier it is great to share all information possible with sites like IPDB to document the history of such a neat find.

Posting information here is also a great idea but you might want to change the title of your post to: #1 Sample Wedgehead machine with lots of pictures (or something along those lines) so it can be found easily in the future if people are looking for information on sample machines.

Makes it worth $65k if it’s the #1 proto

It was made to be played not to be looked at. Keep it and play it with pride knowing you have the first one built.

Interesting, thanks Vic!

Seeing the alternative spinner graphics makes me think they should have added a cannon on the playfield over the center drain.

That’s really cool! Thanks for sharing.

Unfortunately that is not an alternate spinner...that would have been cool if it was! That is a Williams spinner that they used on some of their pins such as Hot Tip and Argosy. The original Buccaneer spinners took a beating and were often replaced by whatever was laying around. The Buccaneer I once owned had the wrong spinner when I bought it. Keep an eye on eBay as they occasionally do pop up...that is where I eventually found mine. Beautiful pin...thanks for sharing!

Nice find! Looks like the cabinet, and spinner are the only difference. Pf, bg, and plastics are the same as mine. Very nice!

I have a Mata Hari with the serial number of 1001.

Not sure if they still have some, but I picked up this spare spinner from PBR back in July.

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I love seeing prototype/sample EM stuff. It’s a nice break from all the newer protos that seem to get all the attention. Thanks for sharing!

That is the nicest original Buccaneer spinner that I have seen. To the OP...that is what your pin deserves...ditch the Williams one!

PBR sells the decal for the spinner: http://www.pbresource.com/plastic/gtb-a16439.jpg

my guess is that #1 was the only only one with the blue/blue cab. normally the #1 sample is a test sample for engineering. sample games #2 thru XXX were place on location to get info. all the other samples shown on IPDB have red/blue cabinets.
on a side note volley was the largest deviation from sample to production. some games had no changes and some had minor changes. i don't think it really adds to the value but seeing that this most likely the only one made with blue/blue art work i am sure it adds to the value in this case.
i have and had many samples volley is the closest to #1 i got it is #2

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I have a “2001” that is sample #10, closest I have ever been to #1 on a Gottlieb wedgehead!

Very cool! Thanks for posting!

The next closest to #1 is #5 blue note which does have a small difference on the pf from production

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Hello .
Sorry but for me the first is S1000, i have already saw this number.
Fabice.

What game have you seen this on and when?

"Magnifique!"
I have got sample 01003 S, Abra ca dabra. Not différences with production.

Have seen a Centigrade 37, with an S. It was for sale, but it was in a well used condition. Didn't buy it. If I did buy that one I wouldn't have paid extra due to the pin being a Sample game. If it was in an almost new condition, I would pay a bit more for it.