Rockola's 1934/35 Army Navy is rare. Estimates generally identify 10 to 20 known to exist. Within the last couple of years, an Army Navy was sold in a group of 3 Rockola prewar games (known as the trifecta----Army Navy, World's Fair Jigsaw, and World's Series). World's Series is fairly common (because operators brought them home when they ran their course on location) and Jigsaw far less common (perhaps about 200 survivors). The group of 3 games sold for $25K. Needless to say, it was the ultra rare Army Navy which fueled that high price tag. Arguably, the Army Navy accounted for $21K+ of the purchase price. At the lower end of the pricing spectrum for this title, a nice Army Navy recently surfaced, selling for $10K to a lucky prewar pinball collector, or so I've heard. In any event, Rockola's Army Navy (both the brown top and gold top versions) are noteworthy games, which certainly qualify as "rare" machines.
Army Navy is a mechanical marvel, probably the most complex purely mechanical pinball machine ever designed. The uncanny mechanical movement, especially the ball release from beneath the playfield to the football field trough, is so potent that the absence of electrical power is downright perplexing. Army Navy was released at a time when dry cell batteries were first incorporated into pinball machines. Thus, Army Navy represents the epitome of this breed of machine. It was among the first to utilize score reels.
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Pictured above is my trifecta, with an extra Jigsaw (one Jigsaw is an early version variant)
Below is a youtube video of an Army Navy (not my game):
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/30891947418493718/
Reno, NV
Victoria, BC
