The Best Cast Iron Toy Banks
Cast iron mechanical banks were invented after the Civil War as a way to teach children the satisfaction of saving money. When you drop a coin in, something happens -- a man tips his hat, a frog swallows the penny, a baseball player hits the ball into the bank. Thousands of designs were made between 1869 and 1930. The best reproductions are faithful to the originals in weight, mechanism, and paint.
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How to Choose
Mechanical banks have moving parts that are triggered by coin insertion -- more charming and more expensive. Still banks are simply cast iron containers with a coin slot -- simpler, more durable, and less expensive. For children who will actually use them: a still bank with a locking mechanism is the practical choice. For collectors and display: mechanical bank reproductions by AC Williams or Book of Knowledge are the most faithful to the originals.
Mechanical Cast Iron Clown Bank
A reproduction of the cast iron clown bank popular from the 1880s through the 1920s. Drop a coin on the clown's hand, press the lever, and the clown tips forward to deposit the coin. The paint is baked enamel in the original colors. The casting is faithful to the antique originals in weight and detail. This is what sat on American children's dressers for fifty years.
The mechanical bank format that explains the concept immediately. Press the lever, coin goes in. Children understand it at once.
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Cast Iron Horse Still Bank
A cast iron horse in the traditional still bank format -- a coin slot in the back, a locking screw on the bottom. The horse was one of the most popular still bank designs from 1880 through 1950, cast in dozens of variations by manufacturers including AC Williams, Kenton, and Arcade. Current reproductions use the same casting process and similar paint applications.
The simplest cast iron bank. No mechanism to break. Just iron, a coin slot, and a lock.
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Cast Iron Piggy Bank
The pig has been the symbol of savings since the Middle Ages, when pygg clay was used to make household savings pots. The cast iron pig bank is the American version: solid, painted, with a slot in the back. Current production pieces are faithful to the original style -- heavy, simply decorated, and built to survive being dropped off a dresser.
The savings toy that does not need explanation. Everyone understands a piggy bank.
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Book of Knowledge Tammany Mechanical Bank Reproduction
The Book of Knowledge reproductions are the most faithful recreations of antique mechanical banks available. The Tammany bank depicts Boss Tweed pocketing a coin when the lever is pressed -- a satirical political commentary from 1875 still perfectly legible today. Cast iron, painted in the original colors, with the full mechanical action of the original.
For the collector who wants a museum-quality reproduction of a genuine 19th-century American artifact.
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