BANTHRICO ROBOT BANK

I picked this piece up in October 2011, and I was really excited to finally get it! It's a metal coin bank in the form of a robot.

I've had to skip it twice in the past, once because it was overpriced. The other sighting was in an antique store that I stopped at while on vacation. It was almost closing time so I had to hurry it up, but I managed to spot one of these banks in a locked display case. I wasn't sure what the price was, and I really wanted to see what else was in the store, so it was sacrificed. But I have one now!

Back then, I thought this piece was made by "Bankrico", but nowadays I know better. Really the company's name is Banthrico.

I've seen some of Banthrico's other metal coin banks (they produced more than 900 of them from 1931-1985), mostly buildings, vehicles, and US president heads. But it's this piece that stands out in my eyes, and for obvious reasons. It's like R2-D2 mutated and fused with the top of Darth Vader's helmet!

I'm always a fan of knockoff one-eyed domed robots, and it's even better when they have that familiar R2-D2 design on the top of their head. This bank meets all three points, making for an excellent collectible. You rock, Banthreetoo-Detoo!

I've read that Banthrico banks were produced by hand and "required a highly skilled work force". This has gotta be one of the only knockoffs that required a highly skilled workforce to manufacture it!

My bank has a cover that lets you pop it of with a screwdriver, a pen, or what have you. I've seen a different one that requires you to have a key to retrieve your savings.

Whenever you find one that uses a key, it always seems to be missing it. What's worse is when someone's lost the key and then busted open and ruined the bank to get their money out!