VINELAND, N.J. — Bertoia’s Cast Iron sale September 25, featuring the mechanical bank collection of Dr Robert E. Booth, Jr, was led by a circa 1886 version of Kyser & Rex Company’s Mikado mechanical bank, which sold to a phone bidder for $38,400, including buyer’s premium. The rare blue table version was one of only a few known. When one placed a coin under the right hat and turned the bank’s rear crank, the figure would raise and lower the cones, causing the coin to “magically” disappear and reappear under the left cone before disappearing into the bank. A complete report on this auction will appear in an upcoming issue.
