Astro Mfg Guided Missile Bank

 The metal coin bank made by Astro was a favorite toy/gadget when I was a kid and was one of the toys I just had to buy as an adult collector. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Astro Mfg Guided Missile Bank

Buying back my childhood, one cool toy at a time! That's really what this is because I had one of these gorgeous banks as a kid, only mine had the matte finish, while today's featured bank is chromed. 

Designed by brothers Steven and John Barzak, this was patented in 1960 and was their first offering for the firm they founded in their garage, Astro Manufacturing after leaving Duro Mold. The classic 'pointy tube with fins' design features a spring loaded device allowing you to put coins up to a quarter ($.25) denomination into the holder on the front side then by pressing the button it propels the coin into the slot under the rim of the cone into the hopper. Often times the red rubber nose cone and fin guard covers are missing. My example is missing the key, also a common occurrence. Some models do not have fin guards (those little metal 'feet' at the bottom of each fin) and may at first appear to be broken. The ship measures 13" (35.6cm) H x 4 3/4" (12.1cm) W at the fins. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

I used a couple of different backgrounds to shoot this

A repo sheet of the patent drawings

Here's our intrepid bank soaring through the atmosphere of an alien world (could this be the toxic atmosphere over Wall Street?)