I am suggesting that it has been "modified" to play without money. People did that when they set them up in their rec rooms.
But I have no idea how to un modify it.
where did you get it? Perhaps they know.
Linda c

It may take only silver quarters.

It was made in 1970....there were sandwich quarters then.
I am sure it's rigged to bypass the coin slot.

These coin processors were mechanical. If you can get to the coin mechanism, give it a good rap with the heal of your hand. At the same time, listen for any mechanical sounds like a click or, 2 pieces of metal hitting together and try it again. Also, if it has a coin return button, push it several times. The coin return could have been stuck in the open position. There are small "fingers" that sensed the coins and they could be frozen or corroded from sitting. If you can see the fingers, give them a little nudge with a finger and you may see everything swing into action. If these things work for you, then you can go a step further...use a tube of dry graphite and go through the changer and puff a small amount of graphite into any areas where there are moving parts..NEVER USE OIL and don't use WD40. The more you use the coin slots, the better the mechanism will work.

Another thing you may look for on the back frame of the unit is a "house" button. This allowed the bar or other place to push the button and play a song. This would provoke customers to use the box once it quit playing and got quiet. Some of those buttons were very small so look closely. There's nothing to hurt you there so if you see something you suspect might be a small button, push it to see. Those things were pretty well camoflaged. Some of the vendors would supply tokens but there is still a button back there somewhere.

There is a noncommercial website that has a LOT of information about Jukeboxes - How they worked, what they looked like, who made them, and lots of interesting stories ("The KGB and Jukeboxes")

www.jitterbuzz.com/jukebox_overall.html

This will lead you to all the sub-pages. The thing is filled with pictures and patent diagrams. There is a big section on the history of the AMI company in

www.jitterbuzz.com/jukeboxes_companies.html

hello, i have a 1946 Model A Rowe AMI...there is no hardware other than the turntable and arm. If i get a cartridge and wiring, then the needle goes to an amp, then to a speaker, correct?

On the back of the cabinet there should be a switch to bypass the coin mechanism and permit you to play it simply by pressing the buttons to select the song.