This Radio Shack mechanical Robie coin bank from the 80s is so much fun to watch when it feeds itself a coin.
The coin bank is designed to look like a cute, googly-eyed robot. When a coin is placed in its hand, here's what happens:
1. Robie dumps the coin into its mouth
2. It licks its lips in satisfaction
3. The robot dances from side to side
4. Its eyes move around, as if looking for more coins
Craig Lloyd, writing on iFixit, shares his nostalgic memory of getting Robie for Christmas in 1994:
Robie the Banker is an electronic piggy bank in the form of a friendly robot who eats coins. You place a coin on its left arm and gently press it down. From there, Robie lifts his arm, gulps down the coin, does a little dance, and licks his lips. It was the focal point of our family Christmas gathering that year, for sure.
According to its US patent, Robie was invented by Hiroshi Horiuchi and originally released in the early 1980s by Japanese toy company Tomy (known as Takara Tomy in Japan). You may not recognize that name, but they created the era-defining Transformers toy line in 1984.
Robie was originally named Mr. Money, but RadioShack purchased distribution rights in the US and renamed the robotic coin bank to Robie.
I wish I had a cute little Robie to feed my coins to. I'd put a lot more spare change to use this way than I do now by leaving it scattered throughout various drawers and pockets.
For those interested in the mechanics behind Robie's magic, here's an excellent breakdown and restoration video.
See also:Huge humanoid robot hired to repair railways (video)
