Q: This painted cast iron figure is a bank with a candleholder on the back. There is a horizontal slot for coins on the man’s back and a vertical split that opens to get the coins out. Do you have any idea what the value of it is?
A: This figure of a black man wearing a top hat was originally made as a doorstop by Judd Manufacturing Co. of Wallingford, Connecticut. The doorstop is about nine inches tall. On the original version, the man is holding a box of matches and is seated on a bale of cotton. He’s made of pot metal and the bale of cotton is cast iron. The figure looks like yours but the paint is different. Your figure has a new coat of paint and may be a fake or fantasy piece. A combination candleholder and bank is an unlikely combination; no vintage metal bank is opened by pulling it apart at the seam to get the money out, as you describe it. Most banks have a locked opening at the bottom. The original doorstop figure on a bale of cotton sold for over $2,000 last year. Your fantasy figure seems to be missing a part that goes in the “candleholder.” Perhaps it’s for a post that held bulbs and a lampshade. Anyone know more about this?
Razor blade bank with a place to store the razor or shave cream brush?
Actually, there were many authentic antique banks that were accessed by taking out a screw that held the halves together. I do agree that this example is a modern fake or fantasy item.