Museum Collections

These 19th-century bank are each different, an individual creation of the glassblower and not standard production. While such banks may have been intended for use, it would have been necessary to break them in order to remove the coins. Thus it is more likely that they were gifts and solely for display. Most of these banks are associated with New England, and this is why they are often attributed to the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company or the New England Glass Company. Only a relatively small number are known, although comparable examples can be found in collections at the Corning Museum of Glass.