<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (April 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (April 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes and lottery tickets to consumers after money, a credit card, or specially designed card is inserted into the machine . The first modern vending machines were developed in England in the early 1880s and dispensed postcards . Vending machines exist in many countries, and in more recent times, specialized vending machines that provide less common products compared to traditional vending machine items have been created and provided to consumers . </P> <P> The earliest known reference to a vending machine is in the work of Hero of Alexandria, an engineer and mathematician in first - century Roman Egypt . His machine accepted a coin and then dispensed holy water . When the coin was deposited, it fell upon a pan attached to a lever . The lever opened a valve which let some water flow out . The pan continued to tilt with the weight of the coin until it fell off, at which point a counterweight snapped the lever up and turned off the valve . </P>

What did the first vending machines in the early 1880's dispense