ORIGINAL STEVENS GIRL SKIPPING ROPE MECHANICAL BANK Start Price USD 26,999.99 Current Price USD 26,999.99 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, July 23, 2008 End Time Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Location Pennsylvania See more about 'ORIGINAL STEVENS GIRL SKIPPING ROPE MECHANICAL BANK' Description Original old Girl Skipping Rope cast iron keywind clockwork mechanical bank. This is quite a large & impressive bank. The bank measures 8 3/4" tall with rope in upright position. The bank is 8" long by 5 3/8" deep. This bank sure gets my vote as one of the most amazing cast iron Victorian masterpieces ever designed. The advanced level of the extremely ornate designs are very pleasing to the eye.The action is quite delightful. The bank is wound with the key. When the lever is pressed the coin falls into the bank. Then the girl skips rope moving up & down in a realistic manner as her legs, head, & the rope move. I have tested the bank a few times. She jumps from between 4 1/2 to 8 times apparently depending either on her personal mood &/ or the mood of the mechanism.The bank was designed by James H. Bowen who was issued patent Number 428,450 on May 20, 1890. The bank was manufactured by the J. & E. Stevens Toy Company of Cromwell, Connecticut. The example herein offered has lots of original paint.The bank has the following flaws: The base has three thin & mostly tight hairline cracks. Two are under the base at the edges of the leaves. One of these is 1/4" long & the other is 3/8" long. These are quite subtle when looking under the base of the bank as they are fairly tight. These are very difficult to see when looking at the top of the base.The third hairline crack measures approximately 1 1/8" long. This hairline partly is visible & is fairly subtle on the top of the base where only 3/8" shows. The balance of the hairline on the bank runs under the bank & is extremely tight in a curve in the casting under the bank. Even at a fairly close glance only the 3/8" section of the crack is easily visible.Very close examination with a magnifying glass is required to spot the balance of the hairline. This hairline is located at the curved indention of the base in front of the tiny leaf which is just to the viewer's left of the upright casing. There is some very old overpaint on the face of the girl which is intermingled with numerous vestiges of the original facial paint.The two screws which hold the red & green casing castings together are quite old. But, they are not original to the bank having been replaced at sometime in the bank's past history. The large rotating wheel inside in the mechanism is original & intact as is the interior spring.There are old professional cast iron replacement pieces in the interior mechanism of other interior pieces including the two small pieces which are in the middle of the section of the bank that houses the keywind shaft. These two small pieces show on the outside of the bank at the center of the outside windup area by the windup shaft. The green of this touch up appears much closer to the shade of the original green on the actual bank. For some reason in the photo the shade of the minor green touchup looks very different. The winding key is a well made cast iron recast.All of the rest of the castings as well as the rest of the paint on the bank not mentioned in the above notes is original in all respects. Even with the several mentioned flaws above this is quite a respectable & appealing example of a Girl Skipping Rope Bank. This example of the bank is in somewhat better condition than the average example of this very fragile bank which is normally encountered.We guarantee this item to be original as described & we offer a full & prompt refund if you are not satisfied & if the item is returned in the same condition within 3 days of receipt. If you have any additional questions please email us at imajgin@aol.com.Buyer pays $100.00 for U.S. Mail registered insured. PA residents add 6% sales tax or provide a valid resale number. Immediate shipment upon receipt of well known types of money orders or cashier's checks. Allow 14 days to clear prior to shipment on personal or unfamiliar bank checks or money orders. Shipping to other countries will be more & will be buyer's responsibility. Of course, multiple purchases at the same time will save on shipping as they can be combined. We adhere to all U.S. customs laws on foreign shipments. We do not over or underlist values on customs slips. Place a Bid!