Staats Money Chamber / Counter worth?

TigerTrader

I am more into paper currency but I came accross a nicely restored Staats Money Chamber that is cast iron and with a nickel or brass (I think) front and top tray. I have been able to find a couple on ebay with realized prices that look similar but they only have 6 coin slots ($1, 50c, 25c, 10c, 5c, 1c). The one I found has 8 slots. It says Silver on one side and Gold on the other so the additional 2 slots were for gold coins (I belive it was $5 and $10).

Anyone have any idea on the value of a peice like this? Not being able to find one exactly like it I am wondering if this larger model may be rare..? (exponentially rare???)


I do not know why but my camera must have glitched because I got a picture of the side but the picture of the front is not in my phone...


Thanks for any help you may be able to provide. Feel free to PM me or respond to the thread...

Broadstruck

I have a Lamson cast iron coin 1c through $1 counter marked Pat. July 7 1891 which I traded another member here for.

Depending on condition these can fetch anywhere between $400 to $2500 in the right venue with the right bidders.

Broadstruck

Here's some pics... It's fully original, functional, and hasn't been restored.

You'll see a few rubber feet on some of the legs...

These are aftermarket since they had been meant to be attached to the underside of a service counter to prevent theft.

ormandh

How do these things work? Gravity?

-Dan

Broadstruck

<< <i>How do these things work? Gravity? >>



The levers are spring loaded so if you needed to make change you just hit the proper denomination buttons with one hand and the change would fly out into the other held below.

The top tray is just for storing additional pre-counted change.

ormandh

So I am assuming that you push down on the levers as many times you need that specific denomination to make change?

Broadstruck

<< <i>So I am assuming that you push down on the levers as many times you need that specific denomination to make change? >>



Yes for 5 dimes it's 5 pushes.

shorecoll

The OP one is sweet, but I don't know how you value the restoration vs. original. That restoration guy on TV scares me about originality on stuff like this.

TigerTrader

I am not 100% sure that it has been restored but it just looks to good for me to believe that it has not been. It is really beautiful in person.

The guy wants $550 for it and after further research I still cant find one that has eight slots or that deals with both silver and gold coins. I havent found any that are for sale or have sold and I cant find a representative picture either...


Still love to know anyones opinions on value or rareity?

shorecoll

I have no information, but $550 sounds fair to me...just for the decorative value.

njcoincrank

Not sure, but it appears that the one in the op is missing the top. That is very important.

Complete pieces, restored or original, are fun to have (they look great in an office setting), but the secondary market is thin. I've handled several of these and they always seem to be somewhere between $400-$1,000 (with the more expensive ones having a top tray with spaces for gold coins).

njcc

TigerTrader

Thanks for the info.

The top tray is there and is beautiful as the rest is as well... It has the same tone as the front coin stacker and has the spaces for silver and gold seperated by a small sorting spot within the tray...