And... drum roll... the winner issssssssssss SOLID SILVER for his #2 answer! It was in fact "something else."
And, more credit goes to BROKENTICKER (I won't ask!) for the specific answer, which was that center star holder piece, held on by the screw that had fallen off and was mixed in with a pile of quarters.
The loser here is ME, for being a lazy ass and not opening the door of the slot to look!

I would have eventually though!
But hey... it made for a fun Saturday night post.
Oh and honorable mention goes to rokgpsman for correctly identifying the quarter.