1894 The Liberty Bell, invented in 1894 by Charles Fey (1862–1944), a car mechanic from San Francisco, set the benchmark for the contemporary slot machine; its three-reel type is still used today despite significant developments in slot technology over the previous few decades. Before the Liberty Bell was created, people played games with coins or beans that were placed on objects such as bones, shells, or wooden sticks. These games were often based on chance rather than skill. Fey claimed he designed his new game after hearing Native Americans playing with beads, but this can not be verified since no one else was there to witness it. What is known is that Fey needed money to save a friend from bankruptcy and decided to create a new game that would attract attention in order to get funding. He called his new game the "Liberty Bell" and began marketing it throughout California. His wife, Annie, helped out by creating artwork for posters that promoted the game. The Fays sold hundreds of these bells through their company, Charles Fey & Co. The success of the Liberty Bell led Fey to develop more games under his brand name. In 1903, he introduced the Double Liberty Bell which added another row of reels to the original game. This new version became very popular and was said to have made Fey rich enough to retire. However, he continued to work on new games until 1944 when he died at the age of eighty-one.