Pinball Machine Value: EM, Solid State, DMD and Stern Prices

A working pinball machine is usually worth $650-12,000 as of November 2026, and the era decides most of it. Common 1970s electromechanical Gottliebs sit around $650-1,100, early solid state games from 1977 to 1982 around $1,850-3,300, and the 1990s dot matrix hits such as The Addams Family, Twilight Zone and Medieval Madness about $8,300-12,000, according to Pinside's estimated values, which are built from asking prices rather than completed sales.

After the era and title, two things set the price: how much of the playfield art has worn through to bare wood, and whether the boards work without hacks. Buyers price a machine that "just needs a little work" as one that needs a lot. And at roughly 200-300 pounds, a pinball sells mostly to people who can drive over and collect it.

Quick answer

• Electromechanical (EM), about 1950s to 1978: most working Gottlieb and Bally EMs $650-1,800; non-working roughly $200-500. Spinning score reels mean EM.
• Early solid state, 1977 to 1985: $1,850-3,300 for titles like Firepower, Eight Ball, Black Knight and Flash Gordon; Gorgar sells nearer $1,100-1,700; Centaur and Eight Ball Deluxe $3,700-5,400.
• Dot matrix (DMD) era, 1991 to 1999: $5,500-12,000; The Addams Family about $8,800-10,200, Medieval Madness $10,450-12,150.
• Modern Stern Pro models on the used market: about $5,400-6,500 as of November 2026.
• A non-working, worn or hacked machine can be worth half or less. Figures are Pinside estimates from asking prices, checked against PinballPrices sold data and, for EMs, Pinpedia auction results.

How to identify and value a pinball machine, step by step

1. Read the backglass. It carries the title and the maker: Gottlieb, Bally, Williams, Stern, Data East, Sega, Atari or Chicago Coin. The year is often in small print at the bottom of the glass or on the playfield near the flippers.
2. Look at the score display. Spinning number reels mean an electromechanical game. Red or orange seven-segment digits mean early solid state, roughly 1977 to 1990. A single wide orange dot matrix screen means a DMD game from 1991 on. An LCD screen in the backbox means a modern Stern, Jersey Jack or Spooky game. A video image reflected onto the playfield glass from a monitor in the head means a Williams Pinball 2000 game from 1999.
3. Find the exact model. Look up the title on the Internet Pinball Database (IPDB) and Pinside. Fireball, Black Knight and Medieval Madness each exist in more than one version. The IPDB entry gives the month of manufacture, the factory model number, the production count and usually a link to the scanned manual: Williams Firepower, for example, is model 497, made from February 1980, 17,410 units. Do not date a game by its model number alone. IPDB notes that Williams built games out of model number order, so Blackout (model 495) came out after Firepower (497).
4. Check for a remake. Chicago Gaming Company built new runs of Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars and Monster Bash in the 2010s. They carry the Chicago Gaming name on the backglass and cabinet and have their own market.
5. Check the serial and paperwork. Williams, Bally and Stern games carry a serial sticker inside and on the back of the cabinet. IPDB links each game to the Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (ipsnd.net), where owners log serials, so you can see where yours falls in the run. The manual and schematics are often in the cabinet bottom, and buyers like to see them.
6. Turn it on and play it. Every flipper, pop bumper and slingshot should work, the display should be fully lit, and ramps, toys and multiball should fire. On a DMD game, the self-test from the coin door buttons lists failed switches and coils.
7. Inspect the playfield. Look for paint worn through at the inlanes, under the flippers, in front of the scoop and in the shooter lane, and for raised or sunken inserts (the colored plastic lights set into the wood).
8. Look at the boards. Open the backbox. White or green crust on the CPU board next to the battery is alkaline corrosion, a common and serious fault on Bally and Williams games from the late 1970s and 1990s.

What are pinball machines worth by era?

Pinside's estimated values for working machines as of November 2026, with production figures from Pinside's game archive. Pinside builds them from asking prices, so a quick local cash sale usually lands lower. We checked each row against sold prices: PinballPrices (Pinside's classified archive plus auction sites such as LiveAuctioneers) for solid state and DMD games, and Pinpedia's US auction results since 2023 for the EMs. Most rows agree within about 25 percent. Black Knight sold at a median near $2,600 across ten sales, Twilight Zone near $9,000 across fifteen, Medieval Madness at $10,700 in 2026 and Godzilla Pro near $6,000 across seventeen. Among the EMs, Card Whiz (nine auction results, median $775), Spirit of 76 (nine, median $800; three PinballPrices sales at $630-1,100) and Jungle Queen (four at $550-2,000, median about $1,050) match Pinside, and Wizard and Capt. Fantastic auctions centered near $1,550 and $1,775, with restored games from dealers higher.

Where sales and Pinside disagree, the table gives the sold prices: Gorgar, Space Shuttle, Sing Along (eight auction results at $220-1,500, median about $420, the three since 2025 at $220-325) and Space Mission (nine, median $800; two PinballPrices sales at $850-900). Monster Bash and Attack from Mars rest mostly on Pinside, because the original games have few logged sales (two for Attack from Mars, at $8,700 and $10,499).

Production numbers do not set the price on their own. The Addams Family is the best selling solid state pinball of all time at 20,270 units and still one of the most valuable, because players want it. The 1990s Williams and Bally DMD games hold the top of the used market on deep rules, toys and parts support.

What is the difference between EM, solid state and DMD pinball?

An electromechanical (EM) machine runs on relays, motors and stepper units, counts score on spinning reels and rings chimes or bells. Gottlieb was the leading EM maker, and its 1960s and 1970s games are the EMs most often found today. Solid state machines replaced the relays with a CPU board from about 1977. Alphanumeric displays came in the 1980s and the dot matrix display in 1991. The DMD era ended when Williams left pinball in 1999; Stern has been the main maker since, selling most titles in Pro, Premium and Limited Edition versions.

EMs are simpler to keep running: a relay can be cleaned and adjusted at home, while a dead DMD-era board needs a specialist or a replacement.

How much does condition change the price?

A worn playfield on a popular DMD game can sometimes be replaced with a reproduction, a major job. On an EM, a flaking backglass is often the end of originality, because collectors do not treat a reproduction glass as the same thing.

A worked example

Say you inherit a pinball whose backglass reads Firepower, Williams, with red digit displays. Pinside confirms the 1980 Williams Firepower, 17,410 made, estimated at $1,850-2,150 working. It boots and plays, but two pop bumpers are dead, the left inlane shows light wear, and the CPU board has a little green crust by the battery. A buyer prices that as a project: realistically $1,000-1,500 locally, with the top of Pinside's range only after the battery is removed, the corrosion repaired and the bumpers fixed. The same condition on a Black Knight or Centaur would sell for more.

What repairs and moving actually cost

A "shop job" is the usual first service for a machine that has sat for years. Castle Classic Arcade's flat-rate version covers new rubbers and balls, new flipper linkages and coil sleeves, dead bulbs, a full playfield clean and wax, coin door work, and general board repair and tuning. Battery corrosion damage, extensive board work and new plastics are charged on top. At $75 an hour, a dead machine with corroded boards can easily cost more to fix than the gap between non-working and working value on a common EM.

Weight sets the moving plan. IPDB lists Firepower at 229 pounds, measured with its legs on, which is a two-person lift even in pieces. Take the legs off, lower or remove the backbox and move the cabinet on its side on a dolly or board. Lugg's averages above assume 5 miles of driving and 15 minutes of labor; stairs and longer routes add to it.

Where should I sell a pinball machine?

Most sales are local pickup, and buyers expect to see the machine play. Two things help a private sale: list the exact title and year so Pinside users can find it, and state what works and what does not. Two things hurt it: switching the machine on for the first time in years at the viewing (a shorted board can fail on the spot), and quoting the Pinside figure for a game that does not fully work.

Common mistakes

• Calling a remake an original. Chicago Gaming Company remakes of Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars and Monster Bash are good machines with their own market.
• Leaving the CPU battery in. On Bally and Williams games the battery leaks onto the board. Remove it or move it off the board before storage.
• Storing it in a damp garage or basement. Rust on the legs and lockdown bar and swollen playfield wood both cost real money.
• Moving it with the head up and unlocked. The glass and backbox are where moving damage happens.
• Painting or clear-coating the playfield yourself. An amateur touch-up is easy to see and lowers the price.

How WorthPic reads pinball photos

WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From photos of the backglass, playfield and cabinet, it reads the title, maker, display type and era, tells an original from a remake where the markings allow, and looks at playfield wear, backglass paint and any visible boards. It then gives an honest value range with a most likely figure and explains what drives it. It cannot know from photos whether every switch, coil and feature works or what the hidden wiring looks like, so it asks how the game plays. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• The backglass, straight on, lit, showing title, maker and any flaking.
• The whole playfield from above the lockdown bar, glass off if you can.
• The inlanes and the area in front of the flippers, close up.
• The display while the game is on.
• The CPU board in the backbox, especially around the battery.
• Both cabinet sides and the front, for fading and chips.
• A short note on what works and what does not.

When to get it looked at in person

A common EM or a worn early solid state game does not need an appraiser: the title on Pinside and an honest description settle it. A top DMD title, a rare EM, a collection, or a machine needing an estate or insurance figure is worth an in-person look by a pinball technician or dealer, who can test every feature and check the boards. Our guides to arcade machines and jukeboxes cover the other coin-op machines often found in the same game room, and vintage signs covers the advertising that usually hangs above them. For selling channels in general, see where to sell antiques. Our guide to what collectibles are worth covers the other large pieces that need a buyer able to move them, and how each is priced.

Sources

• Pinside: The Addams Family (Bally, 1992): 20,270 made and estimated value $8,790-10,210, derived from marketplace asking prices.
• Pinside: Medieval Madness (Williams, 1997): 4,016 made and estimated value $10,450-12,150.
• Pinside: Firepower (Williams, 1980): 17,410 made and estimated value $1,850-2,150.
• Pinside: Spirit of 76 (Gottlieb, 1975): an EM benchmark at $740-860.
• IPDB: Firepower (Williams, 1980): model number 497, February 1980, 17,410 units, measured weight 229 pounds with legs, the Blackout model number note and the link to the serial number database.
• Pinside: Space Mission (Williams, 1976): 11,652 made, estimated value $1,020-1,180, and Patelrock rubber ring ($23.99) and maintenance ($44.99) kits in the game's shop listings.
• Pinside: Xenon (Bally, 1980) and Space Shuttle (Williams, 1984): estimated values $2,400-2,800 and $2,310-2,690.
• PinballPrices: completed sales by title, for example Gorgar (four sales at $1,000-1,700), Space Shuttle (seven at $1,550-4,800, median $4,100), Twilight Zone and Godzilla Pro: sold prices from Pinside's classified archive and auction results, used to check the table.
• Pinpedia: auction results by title, for example Card Whiz, Sing Along (eight US results since 2023 at $220-1,500, median about $420), Space Mission (nine at $80-2,500, median $800), Wizard and Capt. Fantastic: logged auction results, used to check the EM rows.
• Castle Classic Arcade: service rates and shop service: $75 an hour and what a flat-rate shop job includes.
• Lugg: pinball machine movers, Austin and uShip: how to ship a pinball machine: local and long-distance moving costs.
• Pinside: Godzilla Pro (Stern, 2021): a modern Stern Pro on the used market at $5,460-6,340.