Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Tinplate Ten Dollar Dime Bank
By bohus
These dime banks are shaped like stubby little cash registers. It's an exclusive club for dimes only. Inserting the first ten cent piece locks the rear door adamantly denying access to the loot inside. But when you can hear the strains of the ice cream truck bell off in the distance, how can you get your money out?
When loading a dime into the Americana colored bank, a little switch levers the dime into the bank and advances the total displayed on the front. Once the counter reaches ten dollars, the rear door slides open and you're off to the mercantile. A cute device that teaches kids the value of saving, and has a much friendlier customer service policy than my real bank.
I thought it would take forever to collect ten smackers in dimes, but after being a little dilligent with my pocket change for a few weeks, I had enough bread to buy lunch - and enough left over to get some of those little paper sleeves for wrapping coins! But hey - ten bucks is ten bucks. Even though this bank dates back to the 50's or 60's, as a kid in the 70's I could have still had a lot of fun with $10.
How much money do you think a bank like this would need to hold to represent an impressive amount of cash to a kid today?
