Almost 100 Years Ago, the Coffee you enjoy would have been ground fresh from a Glass Jar Arcade Crystal hand-crank Coffee Grinder.

Collecting Coffee Grinders can be a Fantastic Hobby, but the fragile Arcade Crystal Coffee Grinder with its Original Glass Cup is the PRIZE of all Coffee Grinders!

Here’s a True Story about the “FIND OF A LIFETIME”. Years ago, I attended an outdoor farm sale of the relatives of a former owner of a rural cafe. Many of the antique items that were being sold were sitting on a pair of long tables for auction goers to mull over. As I looked over the dozens of items, I came across a cardboard box that said “Arcade” Grinder on the outside.

Curious, I opened the box and carefully took out the contents. Inside was a NEVER USED Arcade Crystal Coffee Grinder, cast iron base, original glass coffee bean jar, original tin lid, original graduated Arcade marked glass jar that fits on the bottom and never touched wooden handle attached to the cast iron handle bracket. A complete NEVER USED Arcade Grinder that was in the ORIGINAL BOX and had the ORIGINAL Directions in the box.

As I was looking at all the pieces, a man walked up and stood next to me, watching me move the piece around curiously. I stupidly asked him, “How hard are these to put together?” to which he said, confidently, “I won’t have any problem putting it together after the auction.” Well, he never got his chance, and even though I had the final bid and took that New Old Stock (NOS) Arcade Grinder home, he and I actually became pretty good friends, running across each other at area auctions.

Needless to say, I paid a small fortune for this grinder, but only after I had the full story on how this diamond in the rough came to be on this farm sale. As it turns out, the owners of the farm had parents who operated the local cafe for decades. Before electric coffee grinders became the norm in restaurants, you used to find wall-mounted Arcade Coffee Grinders all over the place. Many larger operations and general stores had table-top cast iron coffee grinders made by Enterprise and other manufacturers. This particular Arcade wall-mount grinder had NEVER BEEN USED because it was ordered by the cafe, but never used!

I designed a Solid Oak wall-mounted display and screwed the Arcade Grinder to the oak piece so I could easily hang it anywhere in our kitchen or family room. With its Original Graduated Arcade-marked Measuring Cup, original wing nut and EVERY piece intact, perfect black paint and flawless glass Arcade Coffee Bean Jar and tin Arcade lid, it is the PREMIER Collectible in our home. It is attached “tightly” to the wall.

If you’re buying an Arcade Grinder, watch for the Original Wing Nut that holds the handle to the cast iron base, make sure the bracket below the grinder is intact so you can hold a jelly jar or some other cup in place (maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find the original Arcade Cup) and of course, check the tin lid for the embossed words “Arcade” written in cursive or “Crystal” written the same way. It will also be embossed in the glass bean jar. Look for roughness under the tin lid or flea bite chips and cracks. All those affect the value and what you should pay.

Normally, you can buy a decent antique Arcade wall-mount coffee grinder for $100 to $200, but if you find a “diamond in the rough” plan to spend much more if you’re going to snatch it from the hands of avid collectors.

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