Bidspirit auction | Jolly Man - Cast Iron

Jolly Man - Cast Iron Mechanical Bank with Box - Made by J. & E. Stevens Company. Cromwell, Connecticut - Circa 1897. The Jolly ”N” Bank is the first iteration of the coin swallower bust bank that we know of. Originally made by Shepard Hardware in the mid 1880's, J. & E. Stevens acquired the rights to manufacture this amusing toy bank in 1897. Stevens elected to re-design the baseplate to accommodate their circular twist trap, but all other castings for the bank remained the same. This is a brilliant bright example of the bank with its storage box. Condition: Near Mint with Original Box.