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 ...

CROMWELL >> In 1843, two brothers opened a small manufacturing operation in the Nooks Hill area making cast-iron hardware. Over the next few years, the company expanded in size and scope and began ...

The boy with an apple on his head stood nervously against the castle wall. William Tell’s crossbow was drawn taut and at the ready. Suddenly, the missile launched through the air, knocked the apple ...

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 ...

How famous was the J. & E. Stevens Co.? C.M., Middletown. J. & E. Stevens Co. of Cromwell was the birthplace of the mechanical toy bank. For more than 100 years it also was the most prolific ...

CROMWELL — The Cromwell Historical Society will present an exhibit next month, “The Town of Iron Toys: The Mechanical Banks of Cromwell’s J. & E. Stevens Co.,” curated by Richard Franklin Donohue, ...

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, ...

According to ROADSHOW appraiser Noel Barrett, an antique-toy dealer in Carversville, Pennsylvania, the majority of collectible mechanical banks were manufactured around the turn of the 20th century.

Bringing a vintage cast iron mechanical bank back to life! Watch as years of rust, wear, and damage are carefully repaired, restoring this historic piece to its original charm. A true transformation ...

Q — While cleaning his attic, my brother-in-law found an old cast iron bank in the shape of a tank. The bank is dated 1918, contains the words “TANK BANK,” has a gold tone and measures 4-1/2 inches ...

In the antiques and collectibles trade, the most common answer to the question of any object’s monetary value is — “What a willing buyer and a willing seller agree on.” Condition, age, quality and ...

Unless you're feeding gold coins into your mechanical bank, you probably need another means of saving for retirement. Still, mechanical coin banks are among the oddest offshoots of the industrial ...