THE MOORE PENNY BANK REFERENCE COLLECTION

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V17 2014 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 19, May 4, 2014, Article 36

Many numismatists also collect classic coin banks. There are two main types; the mechanical banks have some sort of motion, such as a marksman who shoots a coin into a bank slot. Still banks have no moving parts, but are just as charming. This article describes the collection of banks assembled by the authors of the classic 1984 reference “The Penny Bank Book.” -Editor

On Saturday, June 7th, RSL Auction Company will offer the premier still and mechanical bank collection of Andy Moore and Susan Moore, authors of the classic 1984 reference “The Penny Bank Book.” The auction of nearly 700 lots, which will take place at RSL’s recently inaugurated gallery in central New Jersey, will also feature the lifetime mechanical bank collections of Bill Robison and Rich Garthoeffner. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet.

“To still bank collectors, there is no more important book than the one that Andy and Susan Moore wrote. Its publication is what brought still banks to national prominence and got the hobby rolling in a big way,” said RSL partner Ray Haradin. “Collectors are going to be very excited about the prospect of bidding on book examples from this famous, long-held grouping of banks. There are three or four world-class examples of banks that haven’t been on the market in ages.”

Like so many early bank collectors, Andy Moore (1937-1986) made his living in the financial world. For 11 years, he served as president of Beverly Bank in Chicago. He and his wife, Susan, built their bank collection together over a 17-year period and displayed it with pride in their comfortable suburban home.

“In 1993, much of the Moore collection was sold, but the family retained the cream,” Haradin said. “That’s what we’ll be selling.”

The Moore portion of the sale numbers 130 banks – 50 mechanicals and 80 stills, most of which are actual examples shown in “The Penny Bank Book.” That includes the finest-known circa-1890 Transvaal Money Box, which was chosen for the book’s cover.

One of the top lots, a prized Circuit Rider bank, depicts a man – perhaps a traveling minister, as the name would suggest – on a horse. It is technically a semi-mechanical bank, Haradin explained, because it has a retainer that holds a coin in place until the horse is rocked forward and the deposit is made. Its presale estimate is $15,000-$25,000.

Within the Moore collection are examples of nine of 13 figural “safe” banks manufactured around 1895 by the Chicago company Harper. They include Little Red Riding Hood, Santa Claus, a carpenter, and the first version with Old Mother Hubbard on its façade that Haradin has ever seen.