The Mills 45 Coca-Cola vending machine was manufactured for only 2 years: 1941-1942. It was the smallest Mills vending machine made pre-WWII. It is the most desired model for Mills collectors due to its smaller size. It has a small bottle capacity; only 26 bottles, which made it ideal for use in lower volume situations, such as in an office. There is also space to pre-cool 26 additional bottles. This is believed to be the only Coca-Cola machine ever made that vended the bottle crown first.
As you can see in this brochure, Mills referred to the 45 as the “Baby Cooler”, due to its smaller footprint and capacity. The 45 did not use the earlier conveyor method for vending, but rather dispensed bottles using two gravity-fed rotating drums. The compressor is on the bottom of the machine and is easily accessible by removing the lower front panel. The bowed front door unfortunately led to the machines getting pretty dented up over time.
The first of the photos below shows the features of the Mills 45, including the construction, height, weight and capacity. The last photo shows the Mills production plants located in Chicago.
Dimensions: 62”H x 25”W x 22”D
Weight: 415 lbs.
Manufactured by:
Mills Industries, Inc.
4100 Fullerton Ave.
Chicago, Illinois
These items are not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.
10 responses so far ↓
1 clyde ayer // Aug 1, 2010 at 7:58 am
I have a coke bottle machine that is 64 inches tall and 32 inches wide. It has a emblem on the front that says Match your thirst standard and king size. It also has no coin slot on it . It has a door on the right side that opens to let you pull a coke out and I guess you pay at the counter. Can you tell me the year of this machine and send a picture of it? The model # is E110A W, The Vendo Company.
2 clyde ayer // Aug 1, 2010 at 8:00 am
Also can you tell me the value of this machine in running order?
3 machomanbunny // Sep 5, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Hello,I have 18 3&5/8 inches round plastic(black&silver) “Mills cooler ” logos.I would appreciate knowing the age & value of these fine vintage logos.Thank You.
4 john wingler // Sep 10, 2010 at 3:34 am
do you sell parts for antique vending machines or can you give me the web sight for them
5 vintagevending // Sep 12, 2010 at 7:41 am
Hi John, we no longer sell parts or restore machine.
For soda machine parts, check out Fun Tronics LLC
6 dean kassik // Jan 16, 2011 at 10:31 am
i have an old round squirt top load pop dispensing machine. would like any information call me 4027591538. thank you
7 Denis // Mar 30, 2011 at 12:31 am
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/clt/2294573610.html
I posted this Mills 45 on craiglist for my parents, its all original and still works great. Thought I would pass on the link if you might know anyone interested.
8 Larry // Apr 22, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Denis,
Did you sell this? Vintagevending, is there anyway you can contact this person for me?
Larry
9 Mike W hernly // Apr 26, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Im looking for a 10 cent coke machine That I can restore myself Don’t want to spend a whole lot of money Didn’t know if you had anything
10 colleen Lawton // May 6, 2011 at 11:57 pm
I have a westingtonhouse electric coca cola cooler serial # 4305016 , with two flip lids, in the center is what I’m guessing is a water dispenser. If you could tell us where we could find info or a picture.
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