Welcome
to the world of argyrothecolists, which is the name for a collector of money
boxes.
Money has been saved in lots of different
containers and for a variety of reasons for thousands of years. The British
Museum has an example made of pottery during the Roman Empire which contained
silver coins from the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (around AD
307-340).
The Victorian Era produced a variety of devices, boxes and
safes for encouraging saving, including of course the locked money box. Many
were designed to illustrate some important event of the day.
These early
money boxes however were not used for advertising or marketing purposes but in
the 1880's, in an effort to attract more customers, Banks in the USA began
giving away money boxes that prominently displayed the banks name. These were
called home safes, with a simple but effective lock, the key to which was kept
by the bank.
The Home
Safe
Home safes were different from simple money boxes because
they contained a patented device, which prevented the money from being extracted
by the usual method of inserting a knife or flat object in the slot in the hope
that the money would slide out. The only way to extract money from a home safe
was to force the lock.
When the home safe was taken to the bank to be
opened, the money was credited to the customers account. They became
extremely popular in the United States and by 1910 some 10 million were in
use.
In the UK, home safes arrived in the early 1900's. Here, a
home safe is generally accepted to mean a money box issued by a Bank or other
institution between 1900-1970. The later plastic ones are called piggy banks for
obvious reasons. In the USA all money boxes which are not mechanical are known
as still banks.
The design of home safes changed over the years and can
be categorised as follows ...
1. Black
Metal - The main manufacturer of these safes in the UK was Taylor Law. Within
this category there were different types as follows:
(i) Large
Black boxes (some are decorated with copper lines),
(ii) Small Black
boxes (some are decorated with copper lines)
2. Recording Safes - The Automatic Recording safe Co
Ltd was granted a registered design for this type of safe in 1921. Both oval and
round safes were made. These recording safes are either nickel plated or
chrome.
3. The Portable Type - This does not have individual
compartments for coins as the recording type it has one coin slot in the top,
which prevents the box being completely filled and so in theory would be emptied
more frequently at the bank.
4. The Prudential Type
- This is similar to the portable type apart from the coin slot is at the
front.
5. The Book Type - These
were the most popular, as they were less expensive to manufacture, lighter and
fitted in a pocket. They basically looked like a bound book.
(i)
The Taylor Law Type - Larger than the book type. When unlocked the whole side is
removed on early types. The later types had a hinged bottom flap. Lots of this
type were made for the Post Office Savings Bank.
(ii) Those made by the
Automatic Recording Safe Co. ltd - Smaller than the Taylor Law ones, they open
like a book.
(iii) Those made by Pearson Page & Jewsbury Ltd - These
are by far the most numerous as Pearson Page & Jewsbury could manufacture
them at a very low price.
For the best deals online, try ubos.co.uk
and join the next generation of buying and selling online - A Community
Mall.
Nick Harvey is
a Director and co-founder of ubos.co.uk.Ubos was one of our first conceptions.At ubos we decided that it was about time
there was an alternative to other well established auction sites.Where users will not have to pay commission
on sales they make. Ubos is the next generation of buying and selling online - A
community of buyers and sellers.Unlike
other sites ubos is not an auction site. Ubuy, Usell, UBOS.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
Money has been saved in lots of different
containers and for a variety of reasons for thousands of years. The British
Museum has an example made of pottery during the Roman Empire which contained
silver coins from the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (around AD
307-340).
