Description
Uncle Sam Cast Iron Bank..
Found this up in Alaska while I was up there working. I know that there are tons of reproduce of these guys and with this one missing the paint not sure where to start. I know that it works and it is old but aside from that would love to get the help of everyone on this site to point me in the right direction and maybe give me some good news. Thank you all in advance and let me know if I can answer any questions.
Re: Uncle Sam Bank
Look carefully at the bottom of the base, and see if you can see any indication of a patent date. If there isn't one there that's a strong indicator that it's probably a repro. I did find a example of an original:
http://caseantiques.com/item/lot-583-uncle-sam-cast-iron-mechanical-ban…
It appears to be significantly different than yours, which again, makes me think it's likely a reproduction.
A similar example can be found here:
http://www.fineselects.com/products/uncle-sam-mechanical-piggy-bank
The asking price of $50 on that one seems to be about average...