Bank, Mechanical, Duro, Commemorative Strato

This commemorative Strato model metal bank manufactured by Duro Pattern & Mold Co. of Highland Park (Detroit), Michigan comes from a base design that was originally patented in 1953, which was then modified beginning in 1961 with the addition of the commemorative ring around the bank's Moon. The ring around the Moon celebrates the flight of the first American in space, Alan Shepard, on its top side and John Glenn's orbital mission in 1962 on the bottom.

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 a place for an adhesive sticker to advertise the gifting institution, in this case the Alpena Savings Bank of Michigan.

Raymond Reines donated this bank to the Museum in 2011.