Gray 14J Coin Collector
Published: April 2011
Last month we looked at a Gray #14, this month we have something a little more modern. Instead of the coin bank being connected to a candlestick phone this one is equipped with a Kellogg handset. It is also wired to a Kellogg subset. This is a very nice set that I found for sale on Ebay a while ago. Like all the Gray pay stations it would have been sold without the handset and subset. The purchasing telephone company would install whatever brand of handset and talk circuit (subset) they desired. Like many of the Gray models that were portable the vault area is separated from the service area of the unit. From the rear with the cover off you can see that “cage-like” part near the bottom that keeps the coins out of reach of a serviceman. If you look above the lock on the inside of the rear cover you can see the coin signal transmitter. Most Gray models used the telephone transmitter to pick up the sound of coins being dropped and hitting the bells and gongs to alert the operator of coins being dropped, since that isn’t possible with a handset, the internal transmitter is installed.