The intrigue and the unusual circumstances that occur when one is involved in collecting mechanical banks certainly add a lot of interest and color to the hobby. A present example: who would ever think of finding three different rare banks at one time in one place, not in a collection, and right in New York City. Well that’s what Grover Van Dexter has done. He and his partner, Yoji Morimoto, have Second Childhood in West Greenwich Village. This is a very nice well kept antique toy shop — a pleasant place to go for the collector of antique toys. Van certainly deserves credit for finding these three unusual tin mechanicals, and to top it off one of them is a new find.

The banks are all in nice condition and they are the African Native, Flip The Frog, and the Automatic Savings Bank. At this point in writing they are up for sale and when this appears in the February issue they will have been sold to one or more collectors — each is for bid sale individually.

The Automatic Savings Bank, a new find, is in pristine condition with bright coloring. The top and back are red, the strong man has red trousers with yellow trim, a striped red and yellow shirt, and leopard skin in yellow with black spots. He has natural skin color on face, arms and legs. He wears white shoes trimmed in red, and his red fez is worn on gray color hair. His wrist straps are black and red.

The strong man is holding the small cartoon like figure by his hair. This small figure wears a black sailor type outfit with white shirt. Windows in back of the figures show yellow and green trees in the distance. This background represents a room and has a red floor or carpet with blue walls. The small figure stands on a yellow base or platform. The name ‘Automatic Savings Bank’ is in white. There are window decorations on the sides of the bank showing a castle and colors in green, yellow, blue, black, and white.

By the strong man’s left foot is a double ‘S’ insignia and ‘Made in Germany’. Also ‘Made in Germany’ is stamped on the back of the bank. For action the lever on the left side is depressed — the strong man moves from the waist to his left and lifts the sailor type figure by his hair. The figure’s head lifts first, then his body, as though stretching his neck. The coin slot is exposed for insertion of coins as the strong man moves left. This part of the action is comparable to that of the Saluting Sailor.

Flip The Frog, to the best of the writer’s knowledge, is the second one known to exist. It is in nice original condition with good bright colors. The background of the front is pale blue, Flip has green trousers, black jacket, white shirt and red tie. The green ‘Cash Can’ to his right has the lettering in black. The back of the bank is all red, as is the semi-circular track on the front where the coin travels. The name ‘Flip The Frog’ is on the front top and at the bottom appears ‘Flip The Frog Money Box,’ both in black lettering. On the lower left front is the wording ‘Made in Germany.’

To operate Flip properly it is necessary to use the large size English penny. This is placed by his raised left leg. The lever is depressed and Flip’s left leg lowers sliding the coin into position. He opens his mouth exposing a large red tongue and he lifts the lid of the cash can. On releasing the lever with a snap the left leg kicks up causing the coin to travel in the track over Flip’s head on into the cash can and moving parts return to their respective positions. This is very good action with the coin taking part in the action, similar to that of the Monkey & Parrot.

The African Native Bank is once again, to the best of the writer’s knowledge, the second example known to exist. It’s in fine bright condition with colors as follows: The over-size face is brown with large red lips and prominent white teeth. The eyes are white, yellow and black. The small body has a white shirt, blue shorts, red strap, red ankle bracelets, and yellow wrist bracelets. The earrings are also yellow. The curly hair is brown and the large tongue is red. The rest of the bank, including the rear box section, is red. ‘Germany’ is stamped on the back of the rear box section.

To operate the Native the lever on left is pressed down. This causes the mouth to open and the large tongue to protrude. The coin is placed on the tongue, the lever released, and the tongue recedes with the coin into the bank. The action here is the same as that of the British Lion.

Once again Van is to be congratulated on the unusual circumstance of finding these three rare tin banks at one time. They are circa 1920’s and were made primarily for the English trade. The Automatic Savings Bank, Figure 1, is No. 270 in the numerical classification. Flip The Frog, Figure 2, is No. 271, and the African Native, Figure 3, is No. 272. The Automatic Savings Bank is pictured with the lever depressed and the coin slot exposed for receipt of coins.

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