Tin money box

A childhood memory of birthday cash, a postal order and, later, a Premium Bond to the value of £2 (still in ownership). It’s practical and a symbol of childhood ownership – something exclusively mine. A lock and key giving privacy. It was also, possibly, the home of the Post Office Savings Book with the intended boat fund when we lived by the Thames estuary.. We didn’t save enough for a dinghy and moved away from the sea. However, which sibling still holds the capital? Never mind. Another story.
[Footnote: Big brother says “Is the chip about the boat fund too big to fit in the box?”]

It says “Chad Valley, Made in England M. 205”. Early-1960s. It shows wear and quite a few scratches. Clearly, the money box has continued to have a purpose to have been kept for all these years.

What’s inside the tin box?

Keys! An Automobile Association (AA) key for when rural locations lacked a phone box but the AA provided some, usually, at a road junction. I don’t remember ever using an AA box but we have been lifelong AA members and we definitely used their services on the motorways and roads of England. The other keys include one for a filing cabinet, long gone, and for a brief case which may just be in the garage. Oh, and a tiny key for the money box!

The little brown envelope has its own interest as Dad was in the print and paper division of British Railways – and may have ordered the purchase of these. Alternatively, it was from when we sent our trunk full of clothes to school by rail – passenger luggage in advance (PLA).

So, what is in the envelope?

We have no known reason for retaining this travel agent receipt for a journey on the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company ferry. We traveled from Liverpool to Douglas in the summer of 1978, before we were married, to visit our college friends Pat and Hazel. Pat was to be bridesmaid at the wedding. £51 must have seemed a lot of money but it may have been for both of us.

This prompts memories from the IoM trip. One was visiting the Calf of Man, a small island, on a small boat trip. When we were being driven back to the ferry at Douglas, by Hazel’s mum we think, the car had a puncture. I replaced the wheel with the spare on the roadside. Marg says she was surprised that I could do such a thing. Anyway, we were in time for the ferry. I have no interest in motorbikes but the winding roads and narrow hump-back bridges do not seem suitable for going really fast!

Also in the envelope is a set of Manx coins showing a Viking ship (50p), the Three Legs of Mann (a triskelion) (10p), the Laxey Wheel (5p upside down), not sure (“one new penny”), a Manx Loaghtan Sheep (one penny) and (five new pence”) and a castle (five new pence). The images are more interesting than the value

The tin box is also home to an Eisenhower one dollar coin, a souvenir from the USA in 1973/74. The value of coin is slightly above face value. Or, elsewhere online, up to £2000 if it meets certain criteria which I can’t be bothered to understand, for example, silver content, mint markings etc.
Did I mention I worked in New York for a year? (family joke)

Not for sale

Pre-owned, “vintage”, Chad Valley tin money boxes are available on-line for between £5 and £30. This one is not for sale. Why would I sell this stuff after all these years?

The Artefact series

Stuff! Just ‘things’ or loaded with memories. This is the second addition in 2026. Available, here, is the Artefact series introduction >