User:MacDaddyRico/Duro Astro Vacumet Mechanical Coin Banks

The patent for the first bank model type was applied for July 17, 1947 by a Mr. Henry Arthur Stewart of Highland Park, Michigan (1895-1962.) Though not named in the files, this first bank is called...

***1) The Atomic Bank, by Duro: Prominantly marked as such across the front just under the bull's-eye. While most of these didn't seem to have labels at all and came in just the one silver-greyish color with the red bull's-eye, a few have been seen with banking institution labels. Perhaps those with no labels were occassionally sold in stores, as were some of the other model types. It consists of a Ray Gun on a pedestal aimed at a semi-domed structure which acts as the coin trap with locked access on the bottom. It fires the coin in via a spring-loaded mechanism. The original keys rarely survived with the bank, and were made of the same type metal which breaks rather easily when abused.

The second model made, according to Mr. C. Berzac, was the Mercury. As of yet however I cannot locate any patent information on this model.

***2) The Mercury Bank, by Duro (early 1950's) : Designed much like the Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon-type comic book rocketships of the era, these were the next type produced. Resting horizontally on a small pedestal coin trap, this rocket shoots a coin into itself through a slot cleverly designed into the rocket's nose-cone area, with coin access again through a locked hatch on the underside. This model, like the Atomic Bank, primarily came in a silver-grey matte finish, but I have seen a chromed version as well as the extremely rare green model, of which I actually own one specimen.

***3) The Strato Bank, by Duro, also resembles the Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon-type spacecraft. Resting horizontally and aimed at the Moon, it uses a similar firing mechanism. The patent, by Mr. Carl G. Bergman, was filed June 15, 1953 and approved Jan. 3 of the next year. This model came most commonly in green, with rare appearances in both chromed and matte silver. I've seen one in gold chrome, as a commemorative, but haven't seen a matte gold model of either type. I've also seen a couple painted in the orange and brown scheme of the Sportsman Bank, but they were from foreign banking institutions.

The Strato Bank also came as a commemorative* model, altered slightly to retain a metallic ring around its Moon, which was made from the same type metal. These rings (which also came in a larger size to accompany the Destination Moon Bank) had inscriptions on one (or both) sides, commemorating one (or two) of the following;

A) Alan Shepard's sub-orbital flight.

B) John Glenn's triple orbit of the Earth.

C) The Spacemen by name; Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Carpenter, Schirra & finally Cooper.

Earlier rings had just 5 names inscripted, omitting Cooper as well as Slayton.

(Though originally there were 7 Mercury astronauts, Mr. Donald "Deke" Slayton never flew any Mercury missions due to health issues.)

Other model types soon followed: