help identify and info please

[72plymsatellite]

ok so i bought this (what i think is) a blade bank from an antique shop. i think i have looked over it a few times before and not noticed it throwing it inte realm of coin banks. this time i actually asked to look at it and say there there isnt a way to get the coins out and the from says ER which i think stands for ever ready.

i did a google search for looked through images but cant see what i have. it started giving me random stuff ad the bnb search gives me any thread that says blade, bank, ever, or ready.

have any of you seen this one and am i right in saying that its a blade bank? do you guys happen to know what era it would be from

 

[Bearded Buckeye]

I think the mailbox theme is significant in determining the container's original purpose. My guess is that it was used to store and dispense stamps. As for era, I bet that the bank was probably manufactured in the 60's...but, I am certainly not an expert.

 

[Bearded Buckeye]

And, I think 'ER' typically relates to the Queen of England (Elizabeth Regina). So...I would suggest that it was probably a British postal item.

 

[72plymsatellite]

not sure about your stamp dispencer idea but i did a search for "post office tin bank" and got a few other variations of the same tin. the pictures lead me to old ebay posts that are out dated and dont have good descriptions.

our Elizabeth Regina idea seems more plausible than the stamp idea. anyone else have anything?

 

[Bad Robot]

The ER is on real British post boxes (or at least still was when I left the UK). The slot on there looks like it was cut by an owner rather than produced that way to me. I suspect it was a toy mail box.
Will make a nice blade bank though if the blades slot in

 

[Mark1966]

I think Bad Robot has it.

ER = "Elizabeth Regina". Regina is Latin for "Queen" so the whole thing means "Elizabeth the Queen".

This dates it as since 1953, GR for ‘George Rex’ was on prior to that date and VR before that.

These markings are on actual post boxes, I’d guess this was a toy one that somebody has cut a slot into to make more realistic.

As an aside we used to have money boxes in Australia when I was a kid without any way of getting the money out. They were given away by a bank as a way of encouraging savings. You took the full tin to the bank, then cut it open (with a can opener) and put the money into a bank account for you. You were then provided with a replacement and the whole thing started again!

 

[72plymsatellite]

Thanks for the info guys even though its just a toy. I would be lying if i said i wasnt disappointed lol