Thanks for the tip.  As a collector of both mechanical music and
radios, I had to look!

But before any more is said about strong stomachs, there was an article
in one of the MBSI publications within the last year or so, about a
similar if not identical box.  After researching and pondering, the
author decided the setup may well be original !

It seems that as late as the 1920s or 30s, some entrepreneur found a
small stock of Jacot's (or another Mermod importer's) uncased coin-op
movements, and put them in unused radio or speaker cabinets with a coin
slot.  The workmanship was no better than what's showing on eBay, which
isn't all that slipshod.  Since many home-model Mermod movements were
shipped to the USA for installation in domestic oak cases, there were
plenty of "naked" movements around.

There are many original Mermod coin-ops, though in more traditional
cases but often with a glass top.  Also the coin receiver is just a
slot, and the weight of the penny falling on a little pan is enough to
trigger the mechanism.  I think I've seen upright disk boxes with the
pinball style coin slide as shown on eBay, but never on a cylinder box.
The movement on eBay might not have been originally made for coin
operation.

As for the seller's mix-up on the maker and date -- he's an expert
compared to most of the clueless wild guesses and plain baloney one
sees on eBay descriptions of specialty items.  If I weren't broke from
home repairs, and not too excited about the sound of the smaller Mermod
coin-ops I've heard, I'd bid on this (as a well-known collector/dealer
is right now).  I like them 13-inch cylinders and up; don't we all !

Mike Knudsen