Meteor was produced in 1979. In May of 1979, I started working for Boeing Aircraft painting aircraft parts. It was a union job and paid $6.60 an hour. And I needed every penny. I bought a house with a $350.00 month house payment and I started working all of the overtime I could get. Before I got this job I was building lanterns and ice chests for Coleman Company for about $4.50 per hour. $4.50 per hour let you pay the rent.

In 1978, Carter was President. In 1978, we suffered from a cut off of oil from Iran. Gas lines formed. Gas prices went up; Along with everything else. Carter's solution? Print money. Print lots of money.

It was hard times for many people.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was voted as President. Inflation was rampant. In 1981, Paul Volker was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. To combat inflation, Volker jacked interest rates to 22%. Oil prices collapsed and oil workers were roaming the country looking for work.

This is the market Stern and all other companies were working in during the 70s and early 80s. A lot of companies did not survive. That Gary Stern is still around today is an amazing feat.

To anybody reading this who is cutting a fat hog in the ass with stock market winnings...it was not the way in the 70s. The markets stank. In 1982, inflation had finally been tamed and interest rates started backing off and then the stock market took off.

Back then I believe most pins were sold to operators as a business and money making venture. I think I would be safe in saying that not very many pins were sold to home users. That would place pins in the camp of business tools and not luxury items, as you suggest.

That said, what standards are you using to consider a product, any product, a second hand product? For instance, you used to see lots of pins in bowling alleys. Lots of people bought their own bowling balls. What standards would you apply to determine whether a bowling ball was first rate or second rate, or a luxury item?

They are made of stainless steel. I don't know which grade of stainless but real cheap stainless can develop rust.

Nice read, o-din.

It is all relative. In late 70s I was living in a small to mid-size city in Nebraska. The city built an industrial park and needed to fill it. Perfect Circle Piston Ring company out of Indiana moved in. I assume it was to escape higher wages from its home state. But the company moved in and the starting wage was something like $5.00 per hour which was above the local wages and upset all of the local businesses which had to raise wages to match. As it is said, business is cut throat. And here we are 40 years later and everything has moved to China.

Yes. Economic theory of price elasticity of demand. Demand for pin playing is highly elastic to the price point. I wonder what would have happened if he would have bumped his prices by a dime for 35 cents per play.

I see. I never understood the logic for more than one slot per coin. Doh. Talk about a roadblock for building incremental revenue.

Maybe you know, maybe you don't, but if you are jonesing for WW2 footage head to youtube. You can find it all. Russia, Germany, concentration camps, death camps, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Normandy, China-Burma-India, Marshall, Bradley, Stillwell, Eisenhower, you get the idea. All the stuff that sponsors would not not buy TV advertising for in the 70s.

Netflix has some cool WW2 stuff, as well.

Now, back to pinball history.