One Way or Another By Ken Foust

REMOVING THE MONEY from cast iron banks is relatively simple. The mechanical ones generally have a round trap that can be turned or a panel that will slide open. Still banks are typically held together with a long screw. But the painted and stenciled tin banks made in America in the mid and late 19th Century are another story.

Some of the larger ones will have a tin trap that can be opened, perhaps with the aid of a key, but most don’t. In some cases, the only way a child could get his money out was to literally break the bank using whatever was handy. The illustration of an urchin planning to do just that is titled “Playing Bank President – Busting the Bank,” and was first in a series of four Victorian advertising cards.

Explore more collector stories, vintage toy highlights, and market insights in the Antique Toy World Magazine – September 2026

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