The Distler Railroad Signal Bank
Published in the December 2023 Penny Bank Post | Written by Harry Abel
I just recently purchased a Railroad Signal Tin Bank made by Distler in Nuremburg , Germany in 1930.
This is a tin bank and measures 5 15/16” to the top of the pole. The base measures 3 15/16” x 2 1/4”.
Technically this is a semi-mechanical bank, and it has some unique features. Based on my research, some collectors are having trouble getting the bank to work correctly. It took me a lot of web surfing and thought to get mine to work the way it should (I think), so I wanted to share my findings with you. When you put a coin into the bank the signal flag is supposed to drop and then come back up. There is a tin paddle in the bank. When a coin drops it pushes the paddle down, and a metal cable connected from the paddle to the flag makes the flag drop. When the coin slides off the paddle, the flag comes back up.
The gentleman I purchased this bank from told me it had no trap and you had to bend the tabs and remove the bottom to get your coins out. He also told me he had to “play” with the wire to get it to work. I had an idea how the coins came out without removing the bottom. As soon as I received my bank, I gently tried to push the roof away from the pole. Just as I thought, the roof moved along two rails and came off. Issue #1 solved!
This picture shows the roof removed with the paddle in the bank and the correct metal rod that connects to the signal flag.
I looked at pictures of over twenty of these banks trying to understand if I had the correct rod and what was the proper way to connect it. There were over a . . .
