The Savings Bank of Glasgow

[robertpool]

I have just bought an old Savings Bank of Glasgow money bank and need a key to open it. Any ideas where to get one?

[Dave]

Might this work, or is it a step too far?

[OLDFART]

put money in it 1st i'll show you how to open it

[onyirtodd]

A couple of thoughts.

Is there a money bank collectors club or society? They might be able to help.

Does whoever took over the bank (ultimately Lloyds TSB?) have a museum? It might have one in the collection.

Check junk shops and charity shops. You never know what you'll find.

The kid's money banks I remember from the 50s and 60s were dead easy to pick open. Difficult to lock again

Good luck.

[Ally Doll]

What does the bank look like? My gran has one, but it might not be the same.

[Peekay]

I don't suppose it's either a thruppenny or sixpenny bit that's in it?

PK

[robertpool]

I don't suppose it's either a thruppenny or sixpenny bit that's in it?

PK

There was some coin in it when I received it plus I added a silver thrupenny (the ordinary thupenny piece does not fit through any of the slots provided), a sixpence, a few pennys and a couple of two bobs.

[robertpool]

photo of bank in question

[onyirtodd]

I think you need what I've always called a spade key

This one used to do lots of things from open a Bank of Scotland(?) globe money bank to start my old motorbike.
The widest part of the blades are 17/32"

[Ally Doll]

That's much older than my Gran's - hers is a plastic globe. The key does look the same though. They can't be so hard to find if they were using the same ones over the years.

[robertpool]

the key is slightly smaller than the one shown above. (Thanks Jim).

[Blueboy]

Tan it off the wall.

[e2wufos1]

Found this on ebay if it interests you apparently the bank held the key for them but he tells you how to possibly get them open without the use of a sledge hammer :).

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-SAVINGS-B ... dZViewItem

He also has some other very nice examples of this type of money box from different banks

A very collectable and attractive money box or “home safe” issued by The Savings Bank of Glasgow over 60 years ago.

These money boxes/banks were issued by the main banks and other organisations to encourage savings. You collected as much as you wanted (or until the box was full), then took it to the bank to be counted and added to your savings account. The banks held the keys so that your savings didn’t get raided for the meter or to pay the milkman, and most of these keys are lost to history. Simple lock-picking tools (available cheaply and legally – try Google for the main UK suppliers) will get you into most of them without too much trouble.

This box is of the oval chrome-plated (or stainless steel?) “home safe” type and may have been made by John Jewsbury & Co of Birmingham, as many were. Date is probably no later than 1937 when much bigger and thicker brass thruppences were introduced - this only has a narrow slot for the old silver thruppence. There are also slots for penny/half crown, shillings, sixpence (twice!), one for "small coins extra", and and a hole for rolled-up banknotes in the base – probably not used much, as a the smallest note (“ten bob”) was a lot of money when these were made. Even kind uncles and aunts usually only gave you “half-a-crown” or less!.