Date: 1954
Country of Origin: United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 7.3 x 8.89 x 21.59cm (2 7/8in. x 3 1/2in. x 8 1/2in.)
Materials:
Metal, plastic, paint.
This Strato model metal bank manufactured by Duro Pattern & Mold Co. of Highland Park (Detroit), Michigan comes from a design that was patented in 1953. The space-themed design of the bank included a mechanism that allowed the owner to shoot coins (pennies, nickels, or dimes) from the rocket into a slot in the Moon on the bank. The coins could be retrieved through a hatch on the underside of the bank. Created to be distributed as a premium by local commercial banks, the Strato included an adhesive sticker that advertised the gifting institution, in this case the Maywood Proviso State Bank (of Aurora, Illinois).
Raymond Reines donated this bank to the Museum in 2011.
Gift of Raymond R. Reines. Dedicated to the Berzac Family, in honor of Team NASA.
