-Coin Registering Bank- still bank c. 1932

Curator: The object before us, fabricated circa 1932 by Kingsbury Mfg. Co., is entitled “Coin Registering Bank,” and is a delightful assemblage of metal and glass, a curious readymade sculpture in the spirit of the era. What’s your first impression? Editor: Well, besides its arresting, vibrant blue, there’s a curious weightiness to this playful device. It speaks of both thrift and the promise of quantifiable progress—every penny visually accounted for! It’s unexpectedly compelling, almost meditative. Curator: Yes, the color, scale and industrial aesthetic are all striking. I read this piece, set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, as speaking to anxieties around economic stability. Consider how the “Coin Registering Bank” aestheticizes the act of saving, framing it as a form of empowerment in a precarious social and political environment. Editor: I'm drawn to the dial face itself. It is a kind of symbolic mandala for material accumulation, with its circular movement tracing incremental progress. Think of the concentric circles; it’s reminiscent of a clock, speaking to the precious, regimented accumulation of capital. What I find fascinating here is how common values can take on material expression. Curator: I concur. Its accessibility highlights how dominant cultural narratives shape perceptions of value and security. The work's seeming innocuousness allows it to disseminate and normalizes capitalist principles within a domestic sphere. I'd venture that we may consider how deeply entrenched these attitudes have become. Editor: Indeed. The iconography of growth and progression is persistent! It's been thought provoking to consider this curious little readymade as more than a playful trinket from another age. Curator: Precisely! Bringing this type of analysis of material culture may allow us to understand our own cultural baggage that may impact present struggles.