Unknown American Manufacturer. New England - Circa Late 1920's. Illustrated in Penny Lane on p. 205. From the Edwin Mosler Collection. Very little is known about the origins of this sweet toy bank, but it was already illustrated and described in John Meyer's Handbook of Old Mechanical Penny Banks in 1948. In Penny Lane, Al Davidson astutely catalogued it as "not a production bank", but that terminology might be a bit misleading for collectors. More likely, the "Squirrel Savings" was being developed as a sort of vanity project by an early hobbyist. In terms of design, the large flat green base is reminiscent of the conceptual approach to the base seen in the "Feed the Kitty" bank from the same period. Perhaps it is the same toy designer. At any rate, very few of these squirrel banks have ever come to light.

Near Mint with Strong Patina