The very first slot machine – the ‘Liberty Bell’ – was built all the way back in 1894, but it still has similarities to the modern digital slots that we are familiar with today. In this article we are going to take a look at some of the most famous slot machine symbols and learn more about where they originated. While slot games have changed immensely over the years in many ways, those traditional symbols have stuck around over the decades and will be very recognizable to any casino gaming fans.
The idea of the slot game hasn’t change all that much since the nineteenth century, as the principal idea of forming lines out of the same symbols has endured since then in a majority of slots. So let’s take a look at some of those well-known symbols and see why they have stuck around for so long.
The Bell
We have already mentioned the original Liberty Bell slot machine, and as you may have guessed, this is where the common ‘bell’ symbol comes from. Charles Fey’s first slot machine used the bell as the highest paying symbol in his game, and it is to be found in any number of slot games to this day. The bell in Fey’s machine represented the famous cracked Liberty Bell, symbol of American independence, which is kept in the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia today. The bell was last rung on February 23, 1846 to celebrate George Washington’s birthday, but as this widened the crack already present, it hasn’t made a sound since then. However, it is memorialized in slot game form, and of course any visitor to a Las Vegas casino lobby will be assailed by the sound of ringing slot machines.
Playing Cards
Casinos and cards go hand-in-hand, and that goes for slot games too. Once again we return to Charles Fey’s original Liberty Bell machine, which used playing cards along with those bells when he constructed that ground-breaking game. Today the playing card symbols are a common component of thousands of slot games, with the cards from 10 (or J) to A often used as the lowest value symbols in a game. Across dozens of game developers and hundreds of themes, the presence of those lowly card symbols is a unifying factor and a call-back to that very first machine.
BAR Symbol
The BAR symbol is an interesting one, a quirky symbol that has endured for more than a century despite having no relevance to modern games – or indeed the modern world! – at all. This BAR symbol came from the Bell-Fruit Gum Company, in a convoluted sort of way. Before cash prizes were allowed to be paid out, slot players could win candy dispensed by machines designed by Bell-Fruit. The company used their logo in a chewing-gum sized rectangular ‘bar’, and over the years a version of this symbol was retained. Now we commonly see the same rectangular shape, but of course no longer advertising this company. Instead, many slot games continue to use the shape with the word BAR on it, as matching these symbols had an association with winning – albeit no longer sticks of chewing gum! There is some mystery as to whether the Bell-Fruit Gum Company really was a company in its own right, or a part of another company, or even just a marketing ploy. Whatever the truth, that chewing-gum-shaped symbol has lived on.
Fruit Symbols
When we think of slot games, fruit symbols like oranges and cherries come to mind. Funnily enough, there is a connection with the BAR symbol here, as these fruit symbols were used on the same candy-dispensing slot machines to avoid complications with gambling laws. The fruit symbols corresponded to the flavor of gum or candy that was being dispensed to players matching symbols in a line. While slot games no longer pay out in the form of tasty sweet treats, the fruit symbols have endured. The fact that they are brightly colored and easily recognizable has made them a perfect choice for slot game manufacturers over the years and they are firmly established as a gaming favorite to this day.
Horseshoe
Horseshoes are another familiar sight on the slot game screen, and like other symbols on this list they also date back to that original Liberty Bell machine once again. Charles Fey used five symbols on his slot game: Bells, Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Horseshoes. Horseshoes have been considered a symbol of good fortune for centuries, long before Mr Fey’s machine or indeed electricity was invented. There are lots of reasons for this – such as the concept of iron being a protective material which kept evil spirits away, and the horseshoe shape representing the moon, a symbol of fortune and positivity. You may have seen a horseshoe nailed above a doorway – depending on the kind of doorways you tend to walk through! – and this goes back to the legend of Saint Dunstan. This saint managed to nail a horseshoe to the foot/hoof of the devil, only agreeing to remove it if the devil agreed never to enter a door with a horseshoe above it. The lucky horseshoe can be positioned with the open end facing down – pouring good luck onto those who pass below it, or facing up to ‘hold in the good luck’. Charles Fey used the upward pointing horseshoe on his machine, and that example has been followed to this day.
Lucky 7s, Diamonds & Stars
The number 7 has been associated with good luck in western culture for about as long as humans have been using numbers to count. It was also used in some of the earliest slot machines as the jackpot symbol, associating the number with big wins in the minds of casino gamers. It’s pretty clear why diamonds are another popular choice for slot game developers, representing wealth and luxury, and evoking ideas of big wins. Stars are signifiers of fame, of aspiration and dreams, and so they too are associated with winning moments on the slots.
Slots are one of the most popular games at the online casino, as well as at land-based casinos from Las Vegas to Macao, and look set to stay that way for years to come. No doubt there many new innovations will enhance the slot gaming experience as time goes by, but you can bet that these famous symbols will stick around in one form or other.
