Searching for Information About a Toy

Sunday, December 31, 2017
Sunny with Blue Skies
-22 C   -7.6 F

Searching for Information 

About a Toy

Please click here to visit this renowned toy auctioneer

Bertoia Auctions next auction will take place on  January 12, 2018 @ 10:00 A.M.

Below is the screen-capture from liveauctioneers. There is not much information provided on this toy, so you might venture over to Bertoia Auctions website for further elaboration.

However, there is not much information there either.

Both Bertoia Auctions and liveauctioneers are very

 well-known companies and are very honest. 

However, if you are interested in a mechanical bank, 

you might search the Internet for more information.

Please click here to visit the U.S. Patent Office website

The above image is a screen-capture from the U.S.PAtent Office website.  The address in the 

rectangle where you type addresses shows a more-specific address for searching. What you have to do is to search. I got the patent number from an excellent resource book on these cast iron mechanical banks from a book titled "A History of Antique Mechanical Toy Banks", by Al Davidson. The publisher is Long's America, and the book was published in 1987.

The red arrow is pointing to where you have to enter the patent number. Since this toy was patented in 1897, you have to add another number at the beginning  - a "0" (zero). The U.S. Patent Office requires a minimum of 7 numbers for a numerical search.

Below, you can see the added "0" that I added to the search.

The image below is the result of the search.

This has brought up a new window, and from here,

you can search for an image (where the blue arrow is pointing).

Below  is the result of the search.

This helps to verify that this toy was in fact

made in the U.S.A.

However*, if you were at a flea market, you might come across a

 modern-day reproduction of this toy. There is no worry by bidding either on 

Liveauctioneers or Bertoia Auctions. Both are very highly reputable.

The screen-capture below if from p.119 of the 

Al Davidson book published by Long's America.

Mr. Davidson'w was quite thorough in explaining how the toy worked, as well

as providing information to authenticate the "real toy".

Finally below are 3 excellent photos of the 

actual cast iron mechanical bank for sale.

The name of this toy is "I always did 'spise' a mule".

So this is the last post for 2017. I want to wish everyone a healthy and Happy New Year.

And as always,

Have a great part of the day or night,

Wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

Toysearcher@gmail.com

Have