An Ives, Blakeslee and Williams red palace bank made $32,500 at RSL Auctions' Antiques Toys, Banks and Black Americana sale in New Jersey on December 7.
It outperformed its estimate of $18,000-22,000 to make an increase of 47.7%.
 The palace bank was produced circa 1885 |
The exceptionally rare deluxe polychrome bank was produced circa 1885, with just 15 examples known to have survived to the present day.
It features the name and address of its owner printed on the back: "Horace Marion Fulton 1211 Vt. Ave."
Ives, Blakeslee and Williams sold its stock through wholesale catalogues, and is regarded as one of the finest manufacturers of architectural banks and mechanical toys of the period.
A Charles Bailey breadwinner's bank also featured in the sale, realising an identical figure of $32,500.
 The breadwinner's bank is among the most sought after mechanical banks |
Manufactured by J&E Stevens, the bank represents a fascinatingly complex allegory on the dangers of rampant capitalism.
It references both the unionism and the Sherman Anti-Trust act - a piece of recently passed legislation that allowed the government to break up monopolies.
The mechanism bears a figure representing labour that hits an anvil with a hammer, sending a wealthy industrialist flying.
A rare calamity bank, portraying a group of collegiate football players, made $30,000.
Also made by J&E Stevens, it shows two players from Harvard tackling a player from Yale, and is one of just 10 examples in exemplary condition.
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