Looking for a kinetic coin bank

July 7, 2016 10:28 AM

My husband has a birthday coming up. I know he would like something like this coin bank, but it's sold out and I'm having trouble finding an adequate, grown-up substitute.

As a kid my husband really liked marble roller coasters and other kinetic toys, but never got them because they were too expensive. He expressed that he really liked the coin bank in the link above. There are some toy options, like this one, that aren't quite right, mostly because they are cheaply made and our 5-year-old daughter will claim anything sufficiently toy-like for herself.

I'm considering making something myself, so links to DIYs would also be helpful. Thank you for your help!

posted by Alison to Shopping (8 answers total)

Not cheap, but a wooden Rolling Ball Clock fits the bill of kinetic sculpture.
posted by fimbulvetr at 10:57 AM on July 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

Not a coin bank, but you could try some of the SpaceRail stuff. That's level 4, they go up and down from there. Check YouTube for videos of finished products. I think the assembly is a lot of the fun though, so it depends on if he likes to do that part.
posted by brainmouse at 10:57 AM on July 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

That is AWESOME. I found an address and phone number for the company that made it, you could try getting in touch with them?

Can You Imagine 9314 Eton Avenue
Chatsworth, CA 91311 USA

Tel: [phone]
Toll Free: 800-275-4624
Fax: [phone]

(from terrible knackered old website here)
posted by corvine at 11:07 AM on July 7, 2016

If you look around there are lots of crazy wooden gear clock kits, example 1, example 2, that make excellent kinetic sculptures.
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:09 AM on July 7, 2016

Maybe a coin sorter like this?
posted by gregr at 11:11 AM on July 7, 2016

I can't find anything either. I assume you've seen the ones where a hand/paw reaches out and grabs the coin? And the money maze that you have to do the marble-run puzzle to unlock the safe? And there's the Vortex in a home-size version.

But nothing that's very much like what you were looking for, sorry.
posted by aimedwander at 1:37 PM on July 7, 2016

How about a kinetic clock? Google "kinetic clock" for a wall of cool images of clocks and other devices.
posted by JimN2TAW at 2:29 PM on July 7, 2016

Check these standing coin banks out.
posted by Aizkolari at 6:39 PM on July 7, 2016