Friday, October 26, 2012

Cast Iron Mechanical Banks

   Friday, October 26, 2012
68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celcius)
                           Sunny
Cast Iron Mechanical Banks


     Wow! 68 degrees F (20 degrees C) and sunny on October 26. That's the good news. However, by Monday, a huge storm is expected up here in Montreal. I can't imagine what's going to be in the U.S.A.!

     I've seen many cast iron mechanical banks and doorstops on E-Bay. However, thanks to icollector and their respective auction companies, I am able to use with their permission the images. This certainly has helped since I can obtain permission from 1 source. This makes it easier for me, and requires much less time to work on the images and permissions.

      I have 1 mechanial bank that is a reproduction, which I'm sure there are many of. However, there are a huge number of these fine collectibles (dare I say toys), that are available in the USA. They range in many different prices.but are available to purchase. 

     What's interesting is that there are so many different companies and variations of mechanical banks still available after more than 125 years.  I'm sure that there are books on collecting these fine items form long ago out there. When I have more time, I'll photograph my own "repro" to illustrate the mechanics of the toy. 

     I checked the size of the 1885 penny, and it was a native Indian chief with his feathered war bonnet. Also, the penny at that time was much larger than the later Lincoln US penny. For the few US mechanical banks that did venture un north to Canada, I'm sure the large Canadian penny (at the time) worked well. Pennies (cents) at the time were the size of dollar coins, and of course they were worth a lot more than today! 

    I often wonder about cast iron toys, and about the cast iron door stops and mechanical banks. These items are heavy, and I can't even imagine how many people and children had their toes smashed form these toys. Ouch!

    I'll also add more info about the companies who made these fine items at a future date. What I like about the banks is that they encouraged children,both young and young-at-heart to save. Also  by the time the bank filled up with coppers or pennies or cents, a young child could actually by something of value. I'm going to be 64 on November 29. I can remember in 1958, when Kraft dinner was 9 cents, a bag of potato chips was 5 cents, 4 ounces (113.5 grams) of smoked salmon was 25 cents (1958). My haircut was 50 cents also in 1958. In 1969, when my parents bought me my first car to drive to school (to teach high school) gas  was 27 cents an Imperial gallon ( 1.25x an American gallon) or 4.4 litres. 

 Our Prime Minister and his party  have decided to get rid of the penny, and round all transactions off to the nearest 5 cents or 0 unit. There goes another 3 percent cost-of-living rise!   I heard that this has happened before in Britain.  We certainly take the best from Britian, excuse my politics, thank you!

    






The Mechanical Parts Underneath
I think that for this bank, the monkey would flip to drop the penny 
into the organ grinder's  box.


















I decided to leave an "easy-to -figure -out" bank for the last. I know what the dog is going to do, but I'd like to see the actual mechanics for this particular bank.I have a feeling that it is more complicated than I think it is!

 List of Contributor Websites

http://www.icollector.com

 www.battermans.com/


and have a great weekend wherever and 
whenever you happen to be.

Stacey



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