Chief Big Moon Mechanical Bank (Rare Red Base)

Circa 1899: Designed by Charles A. Bailey for Cromwell, Connecticut's J. & E. Stevens Company the popular Chief Big Moon mechanical bank features the surprising scene of a frog leaping from a pond and trying to grab the woman's fish. With approximately 90% of its original paint intact and without touchup, chips, cracks, repairs, or replacements (including the original fish, which is often replaced), this Chief Big Moon with the scarce bright red and yellow base has a graphically powerful presentation. On page 74 of his Official Price Guide to Mechanical Banks (Gemstone Publishing 2007), author and mechanical bank expert Dan Morphy notes that "a red-base Chief Big Moon is worth twice as much as a Chief Big Moon in standard color." This is a very nice example of a tough to find variant of this classic cast iron mechanical bank.