West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1891-05-21
POCKET SAVINGS BANKS.
a New and Ingenious Contriv-
anoN.
Tho Latest 1nsontien for Enabling Those
uav.ng Odd Coins About THOR Por-
sons to savo Them a OooI
Thing for spcndthr.fts

aak CIthAA1EAta.
Pocket savings banks arc the latcs
thing out. These are rcceptacles for
nickcls and dimes, out OF which they
can not DO extracted unit! certain
amount--usually fvo dollars or ton dol
lars-has been deposited
Similar banks are made and extensive
ly sold, Of larger size and fanoiful de-
sign, which sorye the same purpose, bat
which can not DO carried ia the pocket.
Once these banks were only used by
children. To-day they may bc found In
tho pockets OF all sorts and conditions of
men. That their salo Is enormous 10 at
tested by every dealer in toys ard sport
ing goods. One OF tho largest firms in
New York City told Sunday Journal
representative ono day lately that their
sales bad been SO vast that they bad not
ono in stock and had ordered largo
quantity more.
Tho majority OF these banks arc a. do
vclopmcnt OF tho old-fashioned child's
toys. such as the man with gun who
shoots nickel into tho mouth OF bear.
The first improvement over these toys
was in tho form of n safe with com
bination lock. OF course this served a
purpose. No one could extract any OF
the money deposited unless ho knew the
combination.
But tho chief cncmy OF man was fclt
to 10 man himself. Tho ono who abb
stractcd most of tho cash was The de-
positor. 10 save him from himself was
tho object of tho Inventors OF the latest
devices While these differ materially
in design and probably in mechanism,
they all havo tho same principle. This
is 10 provide receptacle for savings,
out OF which no one, not even tho de-
positor himself can extract them until
"A certain amount has been deposited
The nickel savings bank is ono OF
these. This Is cast-iron box, with q
door In front. Upon the top is n circu-
lar tube with q slot in tho top Into this
slot tho nickel 10 dropped. Once in there
it remains until one hundred Of them
arc collected. Then, and not till then,
tho door can be oponod and the pile
taken out.
The registering dime savings bank
Ia ono OF the neatcst designs. 1t Is made
of cast-iron and has dial like clock.
This has two hands. When the dime Is
deposited tho hands register tho amount
inside. Ten dollars must be deposited
NNAOAC ehO AOOA Ssth DG ODGHtu. nc lCIg
dino opens tho door automatically.
An improvement upon this has been
patented and will bo offered to the pub
lie next season. IL contains bell,
which rings every time dime disap-
pears I'm the slot.
Another design is in the form Of en-
iron Saratoga trunk. This has little
mechanism in front which registers tho
amount inside automatically.
Tho coin registering bank has sort
OF cupola on tho top and slot at each
side. Ono side is for dimes and tho
othor for nickels. by turning the GU
pola top the slots are opened to admit
tho coin.
Ten dollars In either dimes or nicl-cls
must DO deposited before the money can
be withdrawn. 1t makes no difference
whether tho ten dollars Is all in dimes
or all IN niclScls, or partly one ana
partly The other; but they must be
placed in their respective sides or the
machine win rot out of order
Another similar bank Is tho pruden-
tial savings bank. This is in tic form
of safo, with slots at the top, and is
for both niclSels and dimes. being very
similar to the last mentioned, only
simpler.
The most popular form, however. IS
that which can be carried around in the
pocket. 1t is simple tube, with slot
under the lid The dimes as they are
pushed into the tubo are held firmly by
a spring. When one hundred OF them
have been deposited tho lid comes of.
A registering scale, like that of the
old-fashioncd kitchen scales, runs down
the tube and a little pointer indicates
tho number OF dimes inside. Tho
beauty OF this cafe is it's simplicity, and
as 1t can be carried in tho pocket IL has
become very popular.
So far as can be learned there is no
way to beat these banks cxoopt by
breaking them. However hard.up a
man may be, no can not touch his cav
ings.
One ingenious individual had three
dollars in dimes in ono of thoso pocket
banks. He had no other money in his
pocket lilo wanted q drink; he wanted
it badly. lie could not open the bank.
lie consulted bartender They tried
to extract money with a wire. IL did
not work.
Tho man thought he would have 20
remain thirsty. An idea struck the bar
tender. He opened the cash drawer.
From IL he took out two dollars. IL was
all in dimes. One by one he slipped
them into the bank. At last they ycro
all gone. The lid came OFT. Tho TWEEN
IS dimes went back % tho cash drawer;
three others went there, too. Tho man
was thirsty no longer, neither was the
bartender; but tho bank contained less
money than before. This is tho only
way u beat ono OF these banks.
Their cost varies, but may DO said 20
run from one dollar to five dollars, ac-
cording to complication and elaboration
Of design. Tho simplest arc the best.
cheapest and most durable.