Michael Schiess owns one of the largest pinball machine collections in the world with more than 1,700 machines in one location – at the Pacific Pinball Museum. Michael plays as well performs the necessary maintenance and he is almost obsessed with the machines and his collection. With a lot of support and donations from fans, he has managed to collect some of the earliest machines from the 1800s to the latest digital masterpieces.

The Largest Pinball Machine Collection

The museum was founded in 2004 by Michael Schiess, a former museum exhibition designer. Schiess started collecting pinball machines in 2001. He decided to open his own museum after being unimpressed with the coverage of pinball history at other museums. One of his first major acquisitions was thirty-six machines in one purchase. Fourteen of them were installed in a rented room, which Schiess called Lucky Ju Ju, in Alameda and a jar was placed out for donations. In 2004 the facility expanded and became a nonprofit, renaming itself the Pacific Pinball Museum. The museum expanded in 2009 displaying forty woodrail and wedge head machines from the collection of Larry Zartarian. The museum has a gift shop that sells pinball themed merchandise. It also has a museum board, and two additional staff members besides Schiess.

Collection

The museum’s exhibitions include approximately ninety pinball machines ranging from 1879 until today. They are arranged in chronological order. In total, Schiess’ collection comprises 800 machines. Those not on display are maintained at an 8,000-square-foot secret location.^] Upon paying the admission fee, visitors can play any of the machines on display. The oldest machine, from 1879, is a Montague Redgrave Parlor Bagatelle. Contemporary machines include The Addams Family and the Twilight Zone. The museum also has a transparent pinball machine from 1976 that was built by Schiess and Wade Krause. It is based on the Gottlieb “Surf Champ” game. One of the most valued pieces in the collection is a 1930s-era Art Deco machine called the Bally Bumper. The machine was seized by police in Oakland during Prohibition. The museum’s collection has also been displayed at San Francisco International Airport.

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Pinball Adventures is a North American manufacturing company producing fresh and unique Pinball machines. Our goal is to create to the highest standards, and spark the same joy we found as gamers when we rolled our first quarter into that coin slot so many years ago. Stemming from a lifelong passion, Pinball Adventures is created by gamers, for gamers. We strive to bring high quality, innovative, and captivating experiences for all to enjoy.

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Well, why do people collect anything in general? Such as action figures, dolls, trading cards, and cars.

There are many reasons why people collect the things they do. I collect because of the feeling of nostalgia having a connection to history

Other common reasons people collect things include:

• Knowledge and learning
• Relaxation and stress reduction
• Personal pleasure (including appreciation of beauty, and pride of ownership)
• Social interaction with fellow collectors and others (i.e. the sharing of pleasure and knowledge)
• Competitive challenge
• Recognition by fellow collectors and perhaps even non-collectors
• Altruism (since many great collections are ultimately donated to museums and learning institutions)
• The desire to control, possess and bring order to a small (or even a massive) part of the world
• Accumulation and diversification of wealth (which can ultimately provide a measure of security and freedom)

Same thing applies to collecting pinball machines. Pinball machines are always evolving and has changed through out time. Its fascinating to be able to compare the models side by side and be able to know what has changed since the first machine. Most machines are made by different artists, designers which mean  different artwork so to able to own certain models is also like owning a piece of art.

PINBALL ADVENTURES

Pinball Adventures is a North American manufacturing company producing fresh and unique Pinball machines. Our goal is to create to the highest standards, and spark the same joy we found as gamers when we rolled our first quarter into that coin slot so many years ago. Stemming from a lifelong passion, Pinball Adventures is created by gamers, for gamers. We strive to bring high quality, innovative, and captivating experiences for all to enjoy.

Visit our website at pinballadventures.com and also check out our new Instagram page for more updates https://www.instagram.com/pinballadventures/

Pinball, Pinball Adventures, Pinball Buzz, Pinball, Pinside, History of Pinball, Pinball News, Pinball Updates, Origin of Pinball, Pinball Skill Shots, Pinball Canada, Vancouver Pinball, pinball relates to real life, collect pinball

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