Hi, hoping someone can help me find out how to research a mechanical bank I have. Itâs says 1884 J&E Stevens coasting bank. Many thanks in advance
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Also cast ironThank you for the sage advice on what to provide, really appreciated. Iâve attached a few more images and dimensions are (approximately): length 16cm, width 7 3/4 cm, hieght 19cm. Pictures of flat head screws to both figure and box attached. Found in Australia đŚđş đ. There looks to be numbers on the lock to get coins out but canât really see them, maybe PAT FEB 218765?
wow, that escalated quicklyđ. Appreciate the advice Arc, will reach out to the auction house or at least try have it examined (?)Be VERY warry when seeking help on this... personally i would submit / contact Sotheby's OR Christies auction houses via E-mail.
And would seek no other advice.
Dont let it out of yours hands and dont tell a sole near ya.
With that said....Be VERY warry when seeking help on this... personally i would submit / contact Sotheby's OR Christies auction houses via E-mail.
And would seek no other advice.
Dont let it out of yours hands and dont tell a sole near ya.
That would be great.Thank you, Iâll keep you posted
Good post Red...Interesting.
The original for that design had an unclothed baby rather than a clothed child. As @ARC discovered, the only known example turned up on the BBCâs âAntiques Roadshowâ having been found in Scotland. It ultimately sold at auction in Philadelphia in 2013 for $220,000 ($266,500 including buyerâs premium), way beyond the pre-sale estimate of $30,000-50,000. For collectors of these items, it was regarded as the âHoly Grailâ.
From the UK newspaper âDaily Mailâ:
View attachment 2167715
A woman who found an unusual money box in her mother-in-law's attic has sold it for more than ÂŁ160,000 at auction.
The unidentified owner had been cleaning out the loft in Peebles, Scotland, when she discovered the antique 'Coasting Bank'.
The curious contraption, believed to be the only one in existence, features a painted baby resting atop a gold-painted cast steel slide - while straddling a coin slot.
It is likely to have been made by famous toy designer Charles A Bailey while he was working for leading mechanical bank manufacturers J & E Stevens of Connecticut from the 1880s to about 1915.
Mr Bailey, who also created the rare Bismark Pig Bank and the Germania Exchange Bank, was known for his use of lead or white metal - materials that are believed to have been used for the 'Coasting Bank'.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...red-BBC1s-Antiques-Roadshow-sold-160-000.html
Even hardcore collectors had no idea it had ever existed until 1955, when antique dealer William J. Stackhouse found an advert for it in an old copy of âEhrichâs Fashion Quarterlyâ among a stack of old magazines from a second hand shop in New York.
View attachment 2167716
These banks have been heavily reproduced in later times, with the casting usually including the original manufacturerâs name and other details. I havenât seen a reproduction of this particular item but, since it was unknown until 1955 (with the baby, not the child), I would assume it to have been copied after that date, and produced âfrom scratchâ rather than re-moulded from an original. Many Stevensâ (and other manufacturer) reproductions were made for collectors in the 1970s.
Definitely worth getting it checked out by an expert, but I would expect itâs a reproduction, for which prices start at around $100 for vintage items.