Uncle Sam’s Banks were made of heavy gauge cold rolled steel (not tin) with a painted enamel finish. The early decorative plates were actually made out of brass. These banks were well built justifying their lifetime warranty and the reason so many are still around and working today.

Early models were all black with decorative painted gold scrollwork on the sides and front. By the mid 1920’s other colors were added such as brown/black and red/black two tones. The early 1930’s brought the first chrome banks and two tone chrome and red banks. There were a total of four different styles of chrome banks made between the 1930’s and mid 1950’s.

Uncle Sam’s Banks are very unique in the way they have a sealed vault that houses the coins deposited in the bank. Most banks have a trap door that have a key to open it or they have a plug or cover that can be opened at any time.

Uncle Sam’s Single Coin and 3-Coin Registering Banks were designed so that when they received a coin the bank would deposit the coin into the vault, register the amount of the deposit on a counting wheel and lock the vault access closed. A predetermined lump sum of money had to be deposited before the vault access would unlock and the money could be removed from the bank. The registering wheels kept track of how much money had been deposited in the bank since the vault was last accessible. When the wheels read 00 the vault could be accessed again.

Generally this amount was $1.00 for penny banks, $5.00 for nickel banks, $5.00 or $10.00 for dime banks, $20.00 for quarter banks and $10.00 for 3-Coin banks.

Each bank has two registering wheels to keep track of the amount deposited. These are slotted steel wheels that rotate each time a coin is deposited in the bank. A coin is placed in the slot, the handle is pulled down, the coin is dropped into the vault and the wheel rotates one notch.

When a register shows 00, the wheels are lined up so that the vault door can be pushed open. As soon as the next coin is deposited and the first wheel rotates, it now blocks the door from being opened again until the wheels realign at 00. (Three coin banks require at least 25 cents deposited before they lock the door).

Most banks have a front trap door that pushes in when the bank register reads 00 so the money can be taken out. Some older banks have a door/slot on the side or back that opens to retrieve the coins.

My 1907 Dime Registering Bank has a paper sticker on the back that is priceless. The last line reads: If you need the money before – Use an axe.