Small Change, Big Events

With a little more room in the mancave, I have been able to bring out a few more items from the bottom of a dusty box and put them on display. As I now have a dedicated 'space race' shelf, I put the two blown vinyl moneyboxes, commemorating the Mercury missions in pride of place.

Its unclear now, which US bank they were issued with, as although there is some considerable historical detail moulded into the plastic, the issuers details were applied with a transfer, which has long since rubbed away. On the copper coloured version, the word 'western' is vaguely discernable, but that's all.

There's minor differences in the copper and silver versions, so it's probable they were from different banks. Both are single piece and designed to accept small coins and to be torn open when full. Luckily, both are unscathed, apart from some scuffing on the copper version, which is to be expected with something almost sixty years old.

Both have a similar diagram and mission info on the base and the trademark 'Beacon'