Posted 9 years ago
baliles
(14 items)
I took a chance and bid on a few banks in an auctionzip auction last night.
It was advertised as vintage and working, and am hoping the auction house would not use such a description on a repo.
Auction win | ||
| Mechanical Banks17 of 59 |  |  |
uh oh, It looks like it. The auction here calls them all vintage and even antique sometimes. They are also on auctionzip but they didn't have this bank.
I'm not saying all auction houses are scammers but I for me ... I rarely trust what they say. Most of them sell it based on what the consignor tells them and do very little research when needed. Exceptions are the big name famous auction houses.
Bummer
Looks like a repro and I agree with AZTom they use word vintage loosely in descriptions. So vintage to them maybe 1980's if true antique they should state guaranteed then you have recourse for misleading and could argue it . I would always be reluctant to bid at a live auction on somethings without having more photo's and could ask questions . Hope you didn't pay to much :-( and this one photo is not enough to see all the seams,screws ect . He is neat display piece . And I hope me an Tom are wrong for your sake .
do they show back of bank ?
No, this is the only photo The auction was in progress when I came upon it, and didn't have time to ask for more info. That should have been my clue to pass on it but no, I have an itchy impulse buy trigger LOL
Welcome.....With CW we are all here to learn from others. We have all been there -- so it is a learning process. It will still Display very well.
Collecting IS always a learning process -- we never finish learning! Again Welcome
She is named " Dinah" Bank but again It still appears to be a repro of her . Her name was on her back .
Repro or not, it's still a really awesome looking still bank. Look at the bright side, in 50 more years it WILL be vintage and have gained value. But, don't feel bad, some of the best collectors out there have been fooled. Me included!!!
Never, never, never believe what the ad says. Get pictures GOOD pictures of all sides, front, back, top and bottom. Cast iron, like most things is faked and reproduced every day. Vintage is a vague term and Antique is royally abused. Learning about cast takes time but isn't really all that difficult once you learn some tell tale signs. Cast is a buyers market right now but sellers who know what they have aren't selling. The bottom fell out for selling cast close to ten years ago. Left me sitting on quite a bit but I will hold it or pass it on. Always look for marked stuff as Manikin mentioned or a series of numbers (foundry or mold or item numbers) Hubley, one of the best known recorded their stuff as item number while others recorded them as mold numbers. Others yet used foundry numbers. It can be confusing at first. Lots of mechanical bank sites and real or repro sites out there. They are all a wealth of information. Even Ruby Lane has a smallish real or repro site.
"Look at the bright side, in 50 more years it WILL be vintage and have gained value."
That is usually not the case with reproductions. Most reproductions don't hold the same attraction as an authentic item. Most are poorer quality and produced in larger quantities. Corresponding values never escape from the minimal "decorator" value range.
scott
antiquerose, it appears I found the right place then! = )
Manikin, it'll be interesting to see if this repo has the name on it at all.
I haven't received a "shipped" notification yet, so no telling how long before it arrives.
jscotto363, I was thinking the same thing! LOL
fhrjr2, great advise, great info
thank you all !
As auctions go, look for the small print. All of them I have seen have a clause like "Descriptions, conditions and photos are offered as a courtesy to bidder as an opinion only and not a statement of fact. It is the buyer's responsibility to evaluate the items and we highly recommend previewing any items being sold in person."