Potter & Potter Auctions’ Fall Coin Op, Advertising & Carnival Sale Realizes $512,000

Top lots include a Rock-Ola World Series arcade game, a Madame Zita fortune teller, and a papier-mache carnival head that soared from a $100-$200 estimate to $9,600

Chicago, IL — October 2026 — Potter & Potter Auctions has announced results from its 698-lot Fall Coin Op, Advertising & Carnival Sale, held October 15, 2026, which achieved a total of $512,000 with a 91% sell-through rate. The top lot, a Rock-Ola World Series 1937 10-cent arcade game (Lot 125), nearly doubled its high estimate to realize $22,800 against a pre-sale estimate of $8,000-$12,000. All prices include the 20% buyer’s premium.

Lot 100, a Madame Zita 1-cent arcade machine, was estimated at $5,000-$10,000 and realized $20,400. This clockwork example, based on the Roovers original, measured 73-1/2 x 17 x 17-1/2 inches and was produced in Cleveland by Mike Gorski in the 1980s. A customer inserted a penny and pulled a side handle; Madame Zita reached to pick up a fortune card and dropped it down a chute into a hopper for the player.

Lot 101, a Donkey Wonder fortune-telling 1-cent arcade machine, was estimated at $8,000-$12,000 and sold for $14,400. Also produced by Mike Gorski in Cleveland in the 1980s and based on the Roovers original, the machine stood 79-1/2 inches tall inclusive of its marquee. Its handsome cabinet, supported by a copper-accented base, housed a donkey that nodded his head, wiggled his ears, and spun a ship’s wheel to determine the player’s fortune.

Lot 7, a Sign Lifter advertising automaton from the 1910s, was estimated at $4,000-$6,000 and traded hands at $10,200. The 40 x 24 x 17-inch figure depicted a bug-eyed man in a showman’s costume and hat. When activated, the figure’s head swiveled, his eyes and eyebrows moved, his ears waggled, and his left arm cycled through 10 different cards advertising “Victoria Chocolats.” The figure and portfolio rested on a wooden platform with a light-up sign reading “Biscuits Chocolats Victoria.”

One of the sale’s most dramatic results came from Lot 71, a papier-mache carnival head with hat and monocle estimated at just $100-$200, which realized $9,600. The early-to-mid 20th-century example was produced in Findlay, OH by The American Mask Manufacturing Company. It featured a “melting” head with hand-painted details, a jaunty black hat, a green bowtie, and a monocle.

Lot 194, a lighted carousel mirror estimated at $500-$1,000, sold for $2,640. The oval mirror, in working condition and measuring 38-1/2 x 25 inches, was surrounded by a heavily painted and carved wood frame with eight light sockets.

“This was an auction replete with standouts,” said Joe Slabaugh, Director of Cataloging at Potter & Potter Auctions. “Whether your interest was in trade figures and automatons, coin-operated machines, amusement devices, or vintage advertising, there was plenty of quality material to consider, and bidding reflected the outstanding taste of Tim Laganke, who collected much of this material.”

For more information on upcoming sales, visit Potter & Potter Auctions.