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As pinball machine owners randomly and desperately search and destroy EM pinball backglasses continue to disappear.  Machine collectors and professional restorers worldwide have started to realize that the shortage of original backglass is severe.

 

Others have settled for reproductions or poor flaking and scratching restorations, both are unfortunately too expensive to make for few of a kind and very rare machines. Breakage by misguided lawmen in the early days and the continuing DIY pinball machine restoration failure rate has wasted away thousands of valuable original parts. All of this plus shipping poorly packaged backglass has added to this are to blame for this , the cost of proper shipping that now approaching 300 dollars per unit has just for the backglass.

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OUR MISSION

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We intend to create EM true value for the machines and the backglass art by publishing rarity information and a value guide on sales of fully and professionally restored original parts machines worldwide by promoting similarly to the popular Concours D'elegance automobile auctions and other TV auto auction shows that display high restoration standards. 

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Here is an example of of another collectible soaring in value due to rarity and price transparency. 

 

The 1986, Guyette & Deeter sale of a duck decoy for $190,000, and two following auctions at other houses yielded record price results of $206,000 and $319,000. According to Guyette, skyrocketing prices were largely due to a shift in the collector profile. In the beginning, collectors were wealthier sport hunters like attorneys and doctors. In the mid-80s, much wealthier business people started showing interest.

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“All of a sudden, people who were worth hundreds of millions of dollars, not just a couple million, were going after decoys. That pushed the price structure up dramatically,” says Guyette. Today, while some folk art collectors buy duck decoys, most collectors tend to be sport hunters who attend auctions and events for both their united collecting passion and the camaraderie that goes along with it.

“Year after year, people come to the auctions to see friends. They turn into enjoyable events in addition to a business,” says Guyette. “That’s one of the things that drives the market - decoys tend to be independent of other antiques. In 2004, 2005, and 2007, decoys were going up in value, even when the housing market was falling apart, whereas antiques were not.”