It’s fitting that a mechanical bank called “Calamity,” featuring football players colliding, is rarely found without damage. Surviving examples are rare and expensive.
Football fans might consider it a calamity if their favorite team loses. The calamity bank made by J. and E. Stevens in the early 1900s depicts a different kind of football disaster: Insert a coin and the three players’ heads collide.
Frequent collisions over time often damaged the figures, making it rare for today’s collectors to find an example in good condition. The few that still exist are quit…