Antique Cast Iron Pig Bank Black Finish 1890–1920 Primitive Pre Depression Era

Measurements:

4” wide × 3” tall



This is an authentic antique cast iron pig still bank, dating from approximately 1890–1920. The age can be identified by several classic features found on early American cast-iron banks. The underside shows interlocking “saw-tooth” alignment teeth, a style of two-piece mold construction commonly used in the late 1800s and early 1900s before factories perfected smoother seams. The bank also has a pronounced center mold line, typical of hand-poured iron from that era.


The finish is the original black Japan enamel, a glossy lacquer coating widely used between 1890 and the early 1930s on toys, hardware, and small novelty banks. The sculpt itself has a primitive, folk-art look with slightly uneven proportions—another hallmark of early foundry work when molds were still carved and finished by hand. It is also unmarked, which was very common for small regional foundries and hardware shops producing banks in this era.