J. & E. Stevens Company Tammany Mechanical Iron Bank

This 6” high bank is in very good to excellent condition with some oxidation and wear on the politician's knees and minor marks on his hands, vest and face.  The bank worked well when tested.  We believe the bank was made in the late 1870’s.  The bank features a caricature of a corrupt politician from New York’s Tammany Hall.

Tammany Hall was the seat of the powerful Democratic Party when the bank was manufactured by J. E. Stevens. Every time you place a coin in the hand of the sitting politician, he nods his head in appreciation as he deposits the coin into the slot.  Tammany Hall became associated with corruption in the 1870’s. In 1873 John Hall patented a bank design that was called “The Little Fat Man Bank” and this bank was subsequently renamed the “Tammany Bank” by J. E. Stevens, the bank’s manufacturer. 

The Tammany Bank uses a sliding coin trap that appears to be in excellent condition.