In most of the Super Mario games (and many similar platform games as well), you could collect coins to get extra lives. Here’s a Mario-themed arcade machine from Japan wich spits out real coins:
The author of the article doesn’t know how the game works, but since I played a similar game like this a few times when I was a kid, here’s an explanation. This game is a so-called coin pusher. You insert coins (not real ones but arcade tokens) in the machine through a slot in the top. The fall on a platform that slides back and forth, and get pushed against the other coins. The movement of the platform pushes the coins over the edge, out of the machine. I don’t see any in this machine, but usually there are some prizes (watches, lighters, small toys, …) on top of the coins wich can be pushed out of the machine along with them. This one appears to contain several rolls of coins or, more likely, special tokens than can be exchanged for prizes.
If you ever play a game like this, here are a few tips. In the version I used to play, there are three slots through wich you can insert coins. Always insert three coins at once. Why? Apparently, according to the BBC science show Brainiac, three coins together have a bigger effect than three coins in sequence. Second, don’t try to bump the machine to make coins fall because this will trigger an alarm. You can, however, stand as close to the machine as possible and jump up and down. The sensor doesn’t register vertical motion. It helps if you or one of your friends is a bit on the heavy side.
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