Space
The space race of the 1950s ignited a wave of space-themed mechanical banks, with companies like DURO, Astro, and Vacumet crafting iconic designs like the UFO and Destination Moon banks. From plastic wind-ups to high-tech Star Wars models with sound and light, these banks reflect decades of fascination with the final frontier.
Spacemania and Mechanical Banks: A Cosmic Fusion of Fun and Finance
With the advent of the space race in the 1950s, Spacemania spread throughout the nation and the fascination with all objects related to space caught the eye of the manufacturers of mechanical banks. The DURO Mold & Manufacturing company of Detroit, MI made a series of space related banks in the 1950s. In the 1960s, two brothers, John and Steven Berzac, left Duro and founded Astro manufacturing, which extended the line. Finally in the 1970s, Vacumet took control of the banks making their versions of them. Among these are the Satellite bank, the Guided Missile bank, the Strato Bank, the UFO bank, the Destination Moon bank and the Plan-it bank. Of interest, European manufacturers copied these designs and made them for their markets, but leaving off the US Star, symbol of our air force. Many of these banks would carry advertising for various financial institutions, that gave them out as premiums when one opened a new account. Another interesting fact is that in this century a fellow collector reached out to Peter Max and Charles Fazzino, acclaimed popular culture artists and commissioned from each hand painted versions of the Missile bank. Max made two versions and Fazzino one. Needless to say, they are the hardest to find of the Space banks. In the 80s and 90s, the Everlast company of Hong Kong made a series of wind- up space related banks out of plastic. Among these are the UFO, the Robot, the Space Station bank and the outer space bank. Also starting in the 1990s, with the popularity of the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises, a Canadian manufacturer, Thinkways, made licensed banks inspired by their themes. In this regard, these banks are among the earliest that incorporate light and sound through the use of batteries and computer chips in the final product.