Roboto Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Outstanding on the Vacumet specimen the detail is Fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 Outstanding on the Vacumet specimen the detail is Fantastic. Your comments are much appreciated..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 For anyone interested in owning a truly unique, one of a kind Astronaut autograph, check out this Destination Moon Bank... http://www.ebay.com/itm/APOLLO-7-Astronaut-WALT-CUNNINGHAM-Signed-AUTOGRAPH-Destination-Moon-BANK-COA-/192116626678 This man sold me my first autographed bank, which sparked my interest in collecting more banks so that I could get even more astronauts to sign them, resulting in the collection I have today. I've already sold two of my unique signed banks for $950 each, and they were not even Commemorative specimens..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 Updated Group Shot of signed Millennium Collection... After 8 years of annual shows, this is the end result... Also pictured are my Vendor Badges for each event: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017... I wasn't there for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's first show in 2008, and I also missed 2016... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted December 16, 2017 Author Share Posted December 16, 2017 On 5/2/2010 at 8:52 PM, MacDaddyRico said: One of my favorite plastic banks; A combination-dial Re-Entry Gemini Spacecraft Module manufactured by Beacon. This specimen opens when the year 1964 is aligned: Here's another Gemini Bank I discovered... Complete and all original...in mint condition... Canada Dry Gemini Astronaut Water Bottle Bank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted December 26, 2017 Author Share Posted December 26, 2017 On 12/15/2017 at 10:39 PM, MacDaddyRico said: Here's another Gemini Bank I discovered... Complete and all original...in mint condition... Canada Dry Gemini Astronaut Water Bottle Bank... Sold to one of my favorite customers at the Astronaut Autograph & Memorabilia Show in Cape Canaveral this past November... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum recently acquired three more Astro Mfg related artifacts from me, and my plans for donating to a major Detroit-area museum are on hold while the curator is on maternity leave. I also plan on taking a small, basic collection of these banks on the Road...(hint)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted April 25, 2018 Author Share Posted April 25, 2018 Another hint... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan has just accepted the banks pictured above for review, and will decide whether this collection is something they'd like to acquire (see "Museum Donations") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 So the appraiser wasn't too knowledgeable nor thrilled about these banks...too modern for his taste I guess... He wasn't at all interested in the story of these banks, even with the daughters of John Berzac there with the family's gem, the fabled Chrome Green Guided Missile Bank...Unique...One of a kind in the World...Family Heirloom... We all had a great time anyway, talking about the family business, Astro Mfg... My thanks to G.S. for hooking us all up with VIP Passes and 4 tickets... My thanks to T.B. of Gemr for introducing me to G.S... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 We've always been a niche market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Andyman said: We've always been a niche market. I agree, Andyman... However, these banks are more than just toy banks... These historically significant artifacts tell a great American Story... But I guess the AR wasn't the right venue... I'll seek others... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddyRico Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 My donation to my local Bank of America branch, who made this all possible... This Astro Mfg Berzac Creation Guided Missile Bank, originally patented in 1957 and first produced after 1960, was later re-issued by Vacumet in 1975. Most were painted white due to the stickers which accompanied the banks (printed on white paper stock and commemorating America's Bicentennial,) but I decided to customize a few in a variety of finishes, including two Peter Max's and a Charles Fazzino commissions, four U.S. Military commemoratives (of which the Army specimen was sold to an astronaut at the Astronaut Autograph Show,) a Lone Star Museum specimen (which I donated to them this past Saturday at the Show) and an Enterprise Truck Rental specimen (which I gifted to my local branch.) The people at Enterprise and Bank of America got a huge kick out of them, as did the CEO of the Lone Star Museum, who made a big deal out of launching a penny into the bank by reciting the count down, "5-4-3-2-1!" These banks are a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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