Ortonville, MI
Quoted from tamoore:I've played Punchy the Clown. It isn't rare enough, IMO....
You got that right, I would not own one if you gave it to me, A total Turd !!
Brian Lenker
Madison hts MI
(Topic ID: 60742)
Linked Games
24
Stern, 2009-
A.G. Football
Alvin G. & Co, 1992
-
Addams Family, The
Bally, 1992
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Asteroid Annie and the Aliens
Gottlieb, 1980
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Ballyhoo
Bally, 1932
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Bank-A-Ball
Gottlieb, 1950
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Circus
Gottlieb, 1980
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Counterforce
Gottlieb, 1980
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Quoted from o-din:For me rare equates to how many are actually left of a machine that had a low production. And that nobody knows for sure. Except maybe the ultra rare.
I will add that finding a HUO German Fireball on craigslist two days ago was a "rare" occasion.
de fuhrerball, i bet that is rare
Rare is an interesting question. MM had around 4,000 made (I'm being too lazy to check out the exact number) and now around 15k for a nice example. At 15k per machine . . . it may not be "rare" but it certainly is "scarce" due to price regardless of the 4,000 some odd (minus those no longer in existence) that may be circulating around.
Quoted from TigerLaw:Rare is an interesting question.
Desirability too.
There could be one of something, but if no one wants it, who cares ?
There could be 10,000 of something, but if 100 million want it, the price goes up.
LTG : )
Leduc, AB
Quoted from Darcy:Old stuff is not necessarily collectable.
New stuff is not necessarily collectable either. Even with limited numbers.
Quoted from Darcy:If something is stated as '1 of a kind', make sure it truly is!
Even if it's not, on older items condition is KING! Which is why I'm having a hard time believing that not only was I able to find a HUO EM Joker poker, but a HUO Fireball too? Come on!! This can't be real!!
I've spent most of my life buying cars, and fixing cars, and some nice ones have come my way. But I've been playing pinball since I was a child. When I finally decided to go with pins instead of cars about a year ago, these two, because of their age and rarity, seemed like the impossible dream. People always told me they were "blessed" because of the way their cars had held up.
Now I too feel "blessed", whether I am or not. The jury is still out on that one.
Quoted from Shoot_Again:I am going to say 403 is the magic number.
Proof in the pudding =) I still do not own Joust WMS.
A rare bird indeed and a grail for many. I sure wish the game would come up a bit more often. Has HEP ever restored one of these?
I have a HUO Strange World. It never had a cash box installed, very minor cabinet wear. No signs of a lock out bar or added padlock mechanism. Zero cabinet fade. IMO there are HUO EM pins. The late 70's EM especially as SS pins were out already and some operators did not want the new EM stuff out in their arcade. Condition is very important. A low play pin that has been poorly stored and is damaged is not worth high dollars. A high played pin in great condition is the better buy.
Quoted from Darcy:IMO there are HUO EM pins. The late 70's EM especially as SS pins were out already and some operators did not want the new EM stuff out in their arcade.
That's what I was hoping for! Actually, I didn't have a clue. No planking here! 
And the only way I can explain the Fireball is that it never got on the boat.
Rarity/Scarcity is all relative.
What matters to me is how many are on the market or available.
I care about that rarity/scarcity more.
Quoted from iceman44:Rare is tied to demand, if its rare and nobody wants it, its worthless, if you have both then you have something like BBB, which is not "rare" imho, I'd say you need to get down to 50-100 in the pinball world to have lasting rarity/demand for long haul.....
Be careful about mixing terms...the definition of "rare" has nothing to do with demand. If there was only one example of a thing, it's still rare, regardless if anyone wants it. TAF might be considered extremely rare on Croatia, while being common in the U.S., but worldwide it's still considered a common game because games can be shipped around.
Based on how many times I've seen the term "rare" thrown about on games with 3k+ runs, I'm pleasantly surprised to see general agreement on the numbers.
I think Voltan is very rare as not many made during the "Golden Age" of Bally pinball when almost all pin titles would see production over 9000 units. Here a picture of the two I have. Owned one since 1988 but my dad bought it in 1978 since new and it was routed its entire life until 2013, 25 years of earnings. I have serial number 1015 and 1169 See pics below.
I sent these down to Chris at High End Pins as one of them deserves to be saved. The art on these pins is fantastic and future looking if we manage to blow up the world. It really is fun to hit those spinners and light up the objectives.
Is the skyline from Chicago?
20130815_132449.jpg 20130815_132539.jpg 20130815_132427.jpg 20130815_132434.jpg 20130815_134831.jpg 20130815_132822.jpg
Quoted from NM:9.
Currently, 38 bids up to $18,800:
Ebay link
Quoted from NM:9.
Currently, 38 bids up to $18,800:
Ebay link
ya fun watching it
To actually be worth something, generally the rare games also need to have cheerleaders and / or a reason that they gain fans. Honestly, one of the things that I love about the pinball community is that the majority of rare games aren't worth a ton because if they are rare, they are generally rare because they suck and I ain't putting a game that they only made 10 of in my basement if it sucks because I'd rather use that space for something that doesn't suck.
Another thing is the age of the game does really make a difference. I'm certain for instance that there are less Bally Black Belts out there than there are Tron LEs even though more Black Belts were made because of the time they were made and who they sold to. I don't expect that Black Belt is suddenly going to become a $5k+ game though.
The games with production runs that are like 10 tend to transfer hands at high costs because people with very deep pockets and very big game rooms want a trophy, and that's cool. After those first 10 though, you really need a story to become a sought after title.
Quoted from Methos:Rare does not always equate to high $. Pistol Poker is a good example of this.
I'm one that's glad of that...I like quirky and uncommon, so I've got a couple of Alvin G's in MC and PP. Both games are a blast and relatively inexpensive comparatively, although MC has been going up in value quite a bit. My Alvin G's get way more play than the TSPP, SS, CFTBL and TFTC that I own. They are just fun pins.
Quoted from robertmee:I'm one that's glad of that...I like quirky and uncommon, so I've got a couple of Alvin G's in MC and PP. Both games are a blast and relatively inexpensive comparatively, although MC has been going up in value quite a bit. My Alvin G's get way more play than the TSPP, SS, CFTBL and TFTC that I own. They are just fun pins.
ya im glad of that too- ive notice some games with low prod #'s (say a few hundreed), though not rare exactly - were not played often enough by the masses & seem not to build much of a well known game following- . lots of fun to be had for a good reasonable price. its a good thing!
Litvinov
Quoted from blownfuse:Cool looking games. Thanks for posting the pics
Thanks, and it's a pleasure to share the beauty of these obscure finds... I'm a sucker for these odd-ball games...
I would be too if I were to find them. 
Steve
Quoted from pinballslave:I'm a sucker for these odd-ball games...
Quoted from Methos:What is that Papillion? Nothing comes up on the pinball database.
Yes, it's there, and Lee's is the Videodens version:
http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=papillon&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick#3934
Quoted from robertmee:No, not the same...Same BG but far different playfield
You have to scroll down....the link brings up both versions. Lee's is the Videodens one. I edited my post above to clarify.
Quoted from pinballslave:Thanks, and it's a pleasure to share the beauty of these obscure finds... I'm a sucker for these odd-ball games...
thx!!!
conclusion rare defined
rare for a buyer is equil to production number x, subtract 18 for each year since production minus 37-82% depeding on game desire of ownership and if any of there freinds have one.
rare for a seller is production number x, times 7 for every year since they owned it and plus 37,000
3 weeks later
Rare = 500-1000 produced. Most have limited access . Ten years from now the demand for most
70s -90s pins will likely decrease due to age preferences . Pin advancements should be significant
and the new collectors will seek 2000- at that time , more current and limited production games.
Many of the low production Sterns will be viewed as rare. Imagine that!
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