What font is used for the 7 symbol on a slot machine?

Short answer: Clarendon Bold.

For fun, I’m writing a little slot machine game in Java.  I wanted to create some symbols to go on the reels, and one of those symbols is the number 7.  And, I wanted it to look like the fancy 7 you see on slot machines, like this:

Slot machine with 7 symbol
Spin baby” by Hyun Lee is licensed under CC BY 2.0

So, after some googling around, I discovered that it uses the Clarendon Bold font.  Here’s what the 7 looks like in Linotype’s Clarendon Std Bold:

The letter 7 in Monotype's Clarendon Bold BT font.
The letter 7 in Linotype’s Clarendon Std Bold font

This is a screenshot grabbed from the preview feature of fonts.com’s page for Clarendon Std Bold.

Unfortunately, I don’t have that font on my computer.  After further googling, I discovered the Ultra font on Google Fonts.  The Google Fonts page describes it as follows:

Ultra is an ultra bold slab typeface with nods to wood type styles like Clarendon and Egyptian. Strong and dramatic letterforms for titling, a serious, yet friendly, and easily legible typestyle. Perfect for power headlines and titling for impact.

Here’s what the 7 looks like in Ultra:

The symbol 7 in Ultra font
The letter 7 in Ultra font

To make my slot machine 7, I installed Ultra on Windows, fired up Inkscape, added a Text object with the Ultra font at 72 points, set a fill colour of Red, added a black stroke 1 point thick, and here’s the final result:

A "7" slot machine symbol
My final “7” slot machine symbol

I’m pleased with it!

 

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