The results of my research, my first publication American Mettle:
Banking On The Race For Space
My story:
I had no idea that the die cast toy bank my friend handed me in a North Georgia antique store would change my life so dramatically, even as I placed it back on the shelf due to the drastic difference between its condition and the asking price. But the information molded into the metal of the bank was easy enough to remember: Strato Bank and Duro Mold and Mfg. were the first group of key words I'd be using in collectors' guide books and web search engines, with more discovered as the research unfolded.
The research proved a challenge at first however, as just a few different model types appeared in any one book at a time (many having fewer than three of the nine model types ever produced,) and extremely limited information was found on the internet.
Phone records yielded few leads, but I was able to find and call a couple of family members whose parents worked at Duro and Astro! While searching the U.S. Patent website I was able to find almost all of the model types produced, including one which never saw production.
I was greatly assisted with this research by information gained through several telephone conversations with Mr. Cary Berzac, the son of one of the two brothers who quit Duro to start their own business, Astro Mfg. in 1957. I could never have found all of these patents without the names, dates and other information he provided. This is the reason I'd dedicated my donations to the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum in their honor. Having had the opportunity to give back to the Smithsonian and several other prominent American museums including two in my hometown of NYC, I also feel the need to give back to Marietta, Ga. But I'm getting ahead of the story.
My first purchase was online, and as I continued to buy the different model types and discover more about these artifacts an indescribable feeling began to overtake me. I became obsessed with these intriguing mechanical toy banks, and can almost swear to you that they talked to me! That scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind comes to mind: Do the words Devil's Mountain, mashed potatoes and mud on the dinner table ring a bell? Yes, that kind of obsessed. I was a man on a mission.
In time I came across a Strato Bank for sale online. I knew I had to have it, as it was being marketed as a one-of-a-kind artifact. Indeed, I'd never seen one like it before: It was signed by Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Astronaut Wally Schirra. After emailing the seller a picture of the collection I'd thus-far assembled, which was by that time very extensive, he informed me that I should go to Cape Canaveral's Astronaut Autograph & Memorabilia Show, which is sponsored annually by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. This mission was now in stage two, going from researching to developing a collection of signed banks. I had no idea what the end result would be: I was flying by the seat of my pants, almost just like the early astronauts themselves! And I was definitely enjoying the ride!
Well now, I thought to myself: If I'm going to Cape Canaveral it would have to be as a vendor, so I should offer a greater variety of merchandise. The banks are cool, but I have to offer more than that. So I began to buy anything and everything having to do with the Space Race: vintage Jewelry, cookie jars, lithographs, Moon globes, you name it. Needless to say, I was very nervous regarding that first show, as I'd invested literally thousands of dollars in this plan. However, as more and more people came by the table, gawking and smiling at my display, sales picked up and I became more focused on the mission. The reason for the trip was to turn any and all available funds into autographed artifacts. After expenses, my sales also covered the addition of several signed specimens to the fledgling collection. Not a bad start at all.
It was also during this first show that, during a moment of total spontaneity, I'd met the curator of their museum and made a donation of two specimens. That particular incident initiated a series of events that served to give a greater meaning to my mission. The timing was right: Opportunities would enable me to make donations to two museums in my hometown as well as several other great American institutions, including the Cosmosphere and the Smithsonian.
Now approaching my sixth show this coming November 2014, the collection will be just about as complete as it ever will be after a few more gaps are filled. The mission as it evolved will be complete only after this one-of-a-kind-in-the-World collection is then sold, with the proceeds donated to the Marietta Museum of History's Aviation Wing in the hopes that it will help them achieve the goal of building a structure on the property.
I'm not entirely sure of the exact value of these signed artifacts, as most appraisers I'd conversed with had never before even seen these old promotional toys before, and those that have still have no clue as to what a signed specimen might bring. I did sell two signed specimens, which were non-commemorative models, for a total of $1900, so I'm valuing the commemorative models at between $1200-1900 each, depending on the signer, the finish and rarity. The collection is worth more as a whole than the sum of its parts, in my personal opinion. Putting it together was a blast: The expressions of the astronauts alone (as they saw these for the first time ever) made each and every trip worthwhile.
I'm also hoping that serious collectors from the following fields get into a bidder's battle over the artifacts: Toy banks, Mechanical toy banks, Advertisement/Promotional items, Bankers/Credit Unions/Insurers , Americana, Space Race items, Commemorative items and Astronaut autographs.
Time will tell...
My most recent achievement...
