1885 J & E Stevens Mechanical Cast Iron Cabin Coin Bank

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For your consideration today is this very neat looking, antique, J. and E. Stevens Company cast iron mechanical bank from the 1880's, that features a black man or African American standing in the door of his cabin or shack. This is not a reproduction or a recent model, but a genuine cast iron bank from over 120 years ago! We will take some extra time in reviewing this fine looking item, as we want you, the buyer, to know as many details as possible in order to help you make a sure and confident bid!! Also, be sure to check out the 11 enclosed photo's which does give you a pretty good idea on how this antique bank looks. This is really one fantastic display piece that remains in pretty nice shape, even after so many decades of just being around. The bank has been identified as a J. & E. Stevens model from around the 1880's, it is marked or stamped on the bottom with Pat'd June 21, 1885, the item measures just a snitch over 3.5" tall at the front, then 2.75" tall at the back, the base is 4.25" front to back and 2 7/8" wide, the shed is 3 7/8" front to back, then 2.5" wide, and the small black man in the door measures right around 3" tall. This bank is a mechanical style that is operated by the man kicking the coin down into the banks interior, the coin is set in the slot area at the top of the roof, t are two slots or inset areas that are for his legs to fit into, then when the coin is ready, and the man is in standing position, the lever on the right side, which is actually a broom, is flicked at a piece that comes out of the side of the shack which is attached to the mans middle area, which then makes the man kick h is feet outwards and upwards to tap the coin down into the red slot on the top of the roof. We can tell you that the man can kick the coin into the bank nicely, but t is one part missing that does not make this work like it would have when new. The broom would flick against a small lever like piece on the side that was attached to the main rod, but that small end has been broken off, so the broom does not touch that rod to make the man swivel upwards. But you can slightly tip the mans feet out some, then just flip them upwards to kick the coin in manually. If someone was very talented at welding very small areas, this could be fixed as a piece could be added t to make it work fine. That is the only broken, chipped or cracked piece or damage that this toy bank has. T is one part missing though, that being the lid for the bank that fits onto the hole on the bottom. But, this is still one super looking bank, despite the couple flaws, and will hope you continue on as we get into more details! The bank still has a lot of very appealing paint that also appears to be original, be cannot fully gurantee that this is the original paint as we were not the original owners, but from every sign we can see on the outside, this surely does look like this was the way it came out from the factory. T is of course some wear and tear to the paint with dings and places w the paint is gone, but compared to many of the same age, this one is still doing very nicely! The top side has the ridges that are bronze like in color, then the sides of the cabin have some insert slots that are not raised like the roof ones are, and they are of the same bronze like coloring. The back side ridges are darker than the other ones are, then detailing like the black man, windows, coin slot covering, banjo, frying pan, coon skin and broom each have some neat coloring as well. The cabin is very sturdy and strong with no weakness in the rivets or connections, the little man is in very strong shape as well with no cracks or damage structure wise, the man has quite a bit of wear to the color as wels as some darkening of the red pants, but t are some fine details that still stand out nicely such as the white around the eyes, the blue coat and yellow suspenders, t is a bit of red on the lips yet, then has the red pants, blue stockings and black shoes. T are some small surface rust spots that are no big deal, t ar... read more

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