MCM Barware ID?

I bought an 8pc set of bar glasses w/ carrying rack. I believe these are Culver based on the rack and shape of the glasses, but there's a bit of mystery. At first, I thought it was a casino theme based on the coins in pic1. However, of the cities marked in pic3 (Indianapolis IA; St. Louis, IL; Memphis, TN; and no city in KY), Tennessee does not allow gambling. Pic2 shows 4 coin-op games, pinball, jukebox, mini-bowling, and a rifle game. To add confusion there are smaller pics of a Roman emperor bearing a scepter, a man wearing a tophat and pipe pulling something out of a box, and the glasses have a background of musical notes.

Back to pic1 and the phrase "37 years of service". The best scenario I can come up with is these were given to a salesrep of a coin-op vending company upon retirement whose territory included these 4 states. I can't explain the Roman emperor or the tophat guy, except that they would be unique to this individual.

So my initial question would of course be the maker, (Culver?, Libbey?) But is it realistic that a set of 8 glasses would have been printed for a single individual? Would these companies do such a custom order?

 

maybe it's the companies territory...... and only the years change..

 

Agree.

Intriguing glasses. I can't quite make out what is in the gold section. Is that the part with the "emperor"?

I can tell you I've never seen anything similar in 40 years, and on average are quite drawn to this kind of thing (...vintage kitchy glasses) so must not turn up too often. I think you are correct it was a custom order.

As a musician, I have to complain about the musical notes that are printed backwards, lol.

I would have totally gotten these. They are awesome and look to be in incredible shape. Be sure to keep them out of the dishwasher.

 

The gold section is a pile of coins, which led me to the gambling/casino theme. I thought 37 years was an odd milestone for a company to commemorate. It could be retirement age for someone, but either way, I would think a name would be included for a custom order.

 

That's a puzzler, isn't it? You're right; could be from a pinball/slot machine manufacturer like Bally. But an interesting corporate gift. Kinda expensive one-off and not much perceived value in the end.

Debora