National Museum of Play Online Collections

◄ Back

World's Fair Bank

mechanical bank

ca. 1900

Cast-iron mechanical banks, a uniquely American invention, represent a perfect combination of readily available materials, low-cost labor, mass-production processes, and ingenious toy design. After the American Civil War ended in the 1860s, cast-iron foundries turned to the production of peace-time goods. Many manufactured cast-iron toys as a sideline to making shovels, rakes, stoves, tools, and other consumer products. Adding a mechanical action to savings banks encouraged children (eager to see the banks' motions again and again) to save more of their coins (or so their parents hoped).

ManufacturerJ. & E. Stevens Co.
Materialpainted cast iron
OriginCromwell, CT
Object ID78.2526

All artifact images, interpretive information, and website text
© The Strong.

Creative Commons LicenseOnline Collections by The Strong is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.