I picked up an all-original Stargate two months ago--monitor, sound, etc all in great shape with boards that look great (other than the expected acid damage to the battery mounts)--for $275. The seller said it was HUO for 20 years, that he had picked it up for next to nothing at auction from a Chuck E Cheese that went under, and that he always made his grandkids use quarters in it to keep the game from being beat up/overplayed. As we were tilting the game into the bed of the truck, it made that sweet, bunch-o-sliding quarters sound, suggesting there was still money in it but nothing was said (by him b/c I found out the coin door was stuck so he probably couldn't get it open, by me b/c I'm a cheap sob and the only thing I love more than a bargain is a good story).
The lock on the coin door was corroded and took a while to open but when I did I found 45 quarters from the late 60s to early 80s in the box, and, way back underneath it, an old Chuck E Cheese token from 1982 (Pizza Time Theater, long-whiskered Rat face w/o the (c) mark, if you collect them)--I've since seen a similar one for sale on fleabay for $15.
Anyway, I've seen posts of people finding new monitor replacement parts inside their cabs, but was curious what other cool stuff/treasure trove people may have discovered, money or otherwise?
And before anyone chastizes me for "stealing from a grandpa," I'll point out that he obviously knew they were in there (hence his quarters comment) and clearly didn't care about the $10 bonus given that he had the nicest, stand-alone gamebuilding--yes, not a room but a dedicated outbuilding--that I've ever seen--complete with many pins (AF, HS, Slugfest, etc.), skeeball, jukes, slots, and more (I'm sure you can hear the jeolously in my voice).
