More Coffee Mills for Sale

Arcade Crystal No. 3 Coffee Mill

Original Arcade Crystal No. 3, Mounted with Replacement Catch Cup

This is a real beauty. We've had this one hanging on the wall for some time, but finally decided to part with it. We'll describe it from the top down.

• The lid is down to the bare metal; it was very rusty when we got it.  It can be left as-is, or repainted.



• The hopper is in great condition.  The top threads are excellent, no chips; and the bottom of the hopper has the original metal threads totally in tact.  (Rare to find.)  It is embossed 'Crystal' in cursive and 'No. 3' in block print.



• The only thing that is missing from this mill is the original rubber gasket inside the neck of the body to hold the hopper firmly in place.  (This is very rare to find; we've only seen a couple that still had the original gasket.)  We've made a 'replacement' gasket with black electrical tape (which you cannot see) and it works just great.



• The metal body is just beautiful.  Again, when we got it, it was very rusty.  We cleaned it down to the bare metal and repainted it with a glossy black.  There are no cracks or chips of any kind.  Everything is original (except for the re-paint).  It is of course embossed 'Arcade Crystal' with the wonderful fleur-de-lis design.



• It is the original wooden handle, which turns freely, and the inside grinding mechanism works great.



• The metal catch cup holder is the earlier style of the two that were used with the Arcade No. 3.



• The catch cup is a replacement, but fits just perfectly.  It is in great shape and is lipped around the edge.  The cup is actually patented with two dates of June 9 & June 23, [19]03.  We have not been able to track down the patent for this cup, but it is actually about 10 years older than the coffee mill itself.  (We are probably making a mistake in selling the catch cup.)

The mill pretty much speaks for itself. We tried to show enough pictures to see all aspects of the mill. It is beautiful keeper, one to hang on your wall for life or even to use.

 Total Height: Approx. 19"          Approximate Age: 1910s

Item No. CG-1061          Price $175

Turn-of-the-Century Box Mill

This is a perfect example of an early American coffee mill! This large, 1 lb. mill with side handle has been used, hence the wonderful patina, yet it is still in great condition for being 100 years old! Although no identifying marks have survived, there was a label on the front and on the bottom of the drawer at one time (which we've tried to show in the pictures).

This could be a Waddell mill, or the later Sun Challenge mill or the Chillicothe box mill.  (Recently there has been much speculation between these mills but we'll leave that for another topic.  We have the Sun Challenge No. 1080 with the original label below...take a close look and you'll see the similarities.)  It has rounded dovetail construction; rounded tin drawer with wooden bottom piece; and is the same size as these mills. 

This is a large one-pound box mill (so called because you are supposed to be able to fit one pound of coffee beans in the hopper at a time--we have not tried it) complete with the screw top lid and the fineness-of-grind control. It has some stress marks from age, but is in great mechanical condition. Part of the drawer-pull is broken off and a small sliver of the back base has broken off over the years as well (both of which we've shown).

The box is approx. 5.75" square, 7.75" tall and stands 11" tall to the top of the handle.

Age: Early 1900's.         

CG-1022          Price $165

Sun Challenge 1080 Box Mill

Here is an authentic No. 1080 box mill by Sun Mfg. complete with original label, pull out drawer and screw-on lid. This is a wonderful box mill in great condition for its age. Everything on this mill works great; even the adjustable fineness-of-grind control. The only "flaws" are that the drawer pull has been replaced along the way and a sliver of the drawer has been broken off. (The bottom picture shows both of these.) The top pictures are rather dark but they show more closely the true color of the mill; the bottom picture has been lightened to highlight the label.

Joe MacMillan tells us the Sun Mfg. Co. took over John Waddell's Mfg Co. in 1904. They made many mills that are popular with collectors today. They also made mills for other companies under different names. The No. 1080 had a few incarnations. This is one of the first ones still made in Greenfield, Ohio, right around 1901; they moved to Columbus, Ohio a few years later. They were made of Poplar and varnished. The edges of these earlier models are rounded; later they squared the edges. The drawer has a wooden bottom and is rounded with a tin side.

The label shows a sunburst in the upper left hand corner with a large S in the middle.
It reads:

No. 1080
One Pound Coffee Mill
The Challenge
Fast Grinder
Steel Burrs
Manufactured By
The Sun Manufacturing Company
Greenfield Ohio C.H.S.
This mill holds one pound of roasted coffee. The airtight
Receptacle preserves the coffee and none of the aroma is lost
Grind sufficient for use when wanted

The mill is about 6 3/4 inches square at the top & base.
The box stands 7 1/2 inches tall; 11 inches to the top of the handle.

The original label is what gives this mill its value.
This is a must-have for the coffee mill purist.

Item No. CG-1037         Price $225

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