Antique "Radio Bank" Blue Painted Hubley Cast Iron Still Penny Bank
Description: Antique cast iron bank in the form of an early Cabinet Radio. This bank is cast in the form of an early radio with four legs supporting it. The front has the shape of three dials and a speaker area with a gold-colored frame. The speaker’s area shows three separate areas with pointed tops. The bank is painted in blue and has lost quite a bit of its original paint and was badly repainted with a mismatched blue color. This bank was produced in the period 1928 by the Hubley Toy Company of Lancaster, PA, USA. The bank has a solid. It appears to be in three pieces, the body of the bank, the top, and the bottom. These are held together with a bolt and a nut with the bolt's head being on the top plate and the nut being in the bottom plate. We were unable to open the bank and we did not try to force the issue, so we do not know what it looks like on the inside. We believe the piece is all original including the bolt and nut but that it has been badly repainted. The bank shows nice casting details of the radio from the knobs and the shape of its speakers. The slot to insert the coin is on the front below the dials. This is a nice still penny bank in acceptable condition. Please see page 101 in Andy and Susan Moor's Book "The Penny Bank Book: Collecting Still Banks" Published by Schiffer Books in 1984, for a photo of a similar example (bank #821). Please carefully review the photos presented as they are part and parcel of our description.
Date: 1928.
Origin: Made in the USA.
Size: The bank measures ~3 1/4" high, is ~2 3/8" wide on top and ~1 1/4" deep on top. The piece weighs about 6.5 ounces.
Maker: Hubley.
Marks: Has the numbers 17 and 1728 impressed on the bottom. We were unable to open the bank and we did not try to force the issue, so we do not know what it looks like on the inside.
Distinguishing Characteristics - Most Interesting About The Piece: This is a nice penny bank in acceptable condition, which would make a nice addition to your collection.
Condition: The bank is in relatively good condition. It has no chips, cracks, breaks, or repairs. It appears to be all original with considerable paint losses as you can see from the photos. It has been badly repainted by someone with a blue color that does not quite match the original color. The bolt and nut mechanism are frozen and we were unable to open the bank so we cannot speak to what it looks like on the inside. The top wiggles a bit suggesting that the bolt is not fully tightened, and we were unable to tighten it. The bolt and nut holding the bank together appears to be original as are all the bank's parts. Because of the bank being partially repainted and the bolt and nut being unwieldy, we are selling the bank AS IS at a fraction of its true value. Please view photos for additional condition information.
