"Guided Missile" Mechanical Bank, circa 1957

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Artifact Overview

In the years before the space race of the late 1950s, many Americans viewed outer space exploration as fantasy and science fiction. Children's space toys--including banks--reflected those futuristic visions. This "Guided Missile" bank, made by Astro Manufacturing about 1957, contains a spring-loaded mechanism that launched a coin into a slot in the underside of the rocket's nose.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Mechanical bank

Date Made

circa 1957

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

2018.82.4

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Raymond Reines, Dedicated to the Berzac Family.

Material

Metal

Color

Silver (Color)
Red

Dimensions

Height: 13.125 in
Width: 3.875 in
Length: 3.875 in

Inscriptions

on side of front fin: CAN. PAT. 150-21482 / R D 1957-A PERZAC CREATION on side of back fin: ASTRO MFG. U.S.A. / DETROIT - U.S. PAT. SND 45961 label on top of missile: New Horizons on top of key: VACUMET / 2