I believe this represents a fairly comprehensive group of Banthrico college mascot banks. Which is simply to say that it has been a while since I've seen one that I don't have a picture of.
Banthrico made around a thousand different cast metal (commonly called "white metal") banks in the 1960's. By and large, these were distributed across the country to bank branches who often gave them away to their customers as thank-you gifts or as a prize for opening a new account. The college mascots were no different. If you were to trace the origin of each piece, odds are it came from somewhere in the vicinity of the college campus. How do we know this? Half the time, the bank institution added a stamp of some sort to the base of the figurine. Thus, you might see an Alabama elephant from a Tuscaloosa bank or a Georgia Bulldog from an Atlanta bank.
There are two styles: one with the mascot casually leaning on a football and one with the mascot atop a larger football. A few tiger mascots have both. The leaning football tiger was used for several colleges. The finish on these banks varies but is usually some shade of bronze/copper. The Air Force bank below is the only exception to that, as it has a shiny aquamarine paint applied.
Each bank has a trap door on the bottom with a keyhole. The keys are actually rather difficult to find as they have been lost through the years, thus they sell for a few bucks each. They are not specific to the lock; one Banthrico key will open any of these banks.
Banthrico made around a thousand different cast metal (commonly called "white metal") banks in the 1960's. By and large, these were distributed across the country to bank branches who often gave them away to their customers as thank-you gifts or as a prize for opening a new account. The college mascots were no different. If you were to trace the origin of each piece, odds are it came from somewhere in the vicinity of the college campus. How do we know this? Half the time, the bank institution added a stamp of some sort to the base of the figurine. Thus, you might see an Alabama elephant from a Tuscaloosa bank or a Georgia Bulldog from an Atlanta bank.
There are two styles: one with the mascot casually leaning on a football and one with the mascot atop a larger football. A few tiger mascots have both. The leaning football tiger was used for several colleges. The finish on these banks varies but is usually some shade of bronze/copper. The Air Force bank below is the only exception to that, as it has a shiny aquamarine paint applied.
Each bank has a trap door on the bottom with a keyhole. The keys are actually rather difficult to find as they have been lost through the years, thus they sell for a few bucks each. They are not specific to the lock; one Banthrico key will open any of these banks.