Antique 100% Original Baseball Darktown Cast Iron Mechanical Battery Bank 1880s

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Antique 100% Original Baseball Darktown Cast Iron Mechanical Battery Bank 1880s:
$2999.00

This nineteenth-century painted cast-iron bank features a figural pitcher, batter, and catcher, set above the rectangular coin-vault base. Fine example of this important rarity that is universally recognized as a classic by both nineteenth-century baseball and mechanical-bank collectors. Each of the \"players\" has a moving head and arms. The pitcher\'s arm swings back and, when a button is pushed, pitches a coin into the trapdoor on the catcher\'s stomach while the batter swings and misses. Manufactured by the J & E Stevens Company of Cromwell, Connecticut, the Dark Town Battery bank is the only nineteenth-century bank designed with a baseball theme, and is also the only mechanical bank of the era to have three figures, each with moving parts, as elements in its mechanical action. \"Pat Feb 2 1875\" is stamped on the metal stopper on the underside of the bank. Extremely desirable bank highly regarded by baseball, Americana, and mechanical-bank collectors alike. The bank remains in perfect working order and exhibits normal wear commensurate with its age and former use, including light-to-moderate paint loss. In Very Good to Excellent condition overall. 9.5 x 2.75 x 7 inches.