From 18th century automatons that could write a full letter to the player pianos featured in every saloon, mechanical inventions have fascinated us for centuries. Yet the smallest pieces can garner ...

In the good old days, all sorts of fascinating and funny banks were produced to encourage children to save their pennies. When activated by inserting a coin, these cast-iron banks performed clever ...

The celebrated circa-1870 George Brown (Forestville, Conn.) ‘Charles’ Hose Reel Carriage, auction estimate $125,000-$175,000 Mid 1880s Kyser & Rex (Philadelphia) Merry-Go-Round cast-iron mechanical ...

In this video, we explore an exciting restoration project as we revive an old mechanical skull coin bank. The process includes assessing its condition, careful cleaning, sandblasting, repair, and ...

The oldest coin storage units were sturdy portable boxes modeled after military banks of the 18th century. When made for children, the goal of inexpensive “bank boxes” was to encourage saving money ...

Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. kAmp >6492?:42= 32?< =:<6 E9:D “%H@ uC@8D” 32?< FD65 ...

A penny saved is a penny earned, so said Benjamin Franklin more than 200 years ago. It was good advice then and it’s good advice today. With our up-and-down stock market and the shaky economy, ...

The well-worn patina and missing parts hint at the active use this “Trick Dog” mechanical bank once saw in the early 20th century. Put a coin in the dog’s mouth, depress a lever, and - whoosh - the ...

Question: When my aunt died, my father asked if I would like any of her things. I selected the odd clown bank shown in my attached photo. It had intrigued me as a child, so I took it to a local shop, ...

William Rashbaum wound the 100-year-old gears on his girl-jumping-rope bank and sat back to watch. Like Gepetto, Rashbaum delighted in the smooth twirling motion of his toy child. This cast-iron miss, ...