Kicking Cow Bank, 1950-1965

Summary

Saving money can be fun. Beginning in the late 1800s, families could purchase mechanical banks. These banks used ingenious mechanisms to deposit money. This mid-twentieth-century reproduction depicts a man milking a cow. When the saver deposits a coin, the cow kicks -- a real hazard if the animal was treated roughly -- and the man tumbles backwards.

Saving money can be fun. Beginning in the late 1800s, families could purchase mechanical banks. These banks used ingenious mechanisms to deposit money. This mid-twentieth-century reproduction depicts a man milking a cow. When the saver deposits a coin, the cow kicks -- a real hazard if the animal was treated roughly -- and the man tumbles backwards.

Artifact

Mechanical bank

Date Made

1950-1965

Greenfield Village
 On Exhibit

at Greenfield Village in Soybean Lab Agricultural Gallery

Object ID

71.1.42

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of David M. Gwinn.

Material

Cast iron

Color

Brown
Green
Red

Dimensions

Height: 5.125 in

Length: 9.75 in

Inscriptions

on bottom: REPRODUCED FROM ORIGINAL IN COLLECTION OF / THE BOOK OF / KNOWLEDGE

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