Let's Talk About Pottery & Collectables

Pottery => British & Irish => Topic started by: Sue C on October 02, 2007, 09:41:16 AM

Title: Wade Nat West
Post by: Sue C on October 02, 2007, 09:41:16 AM

Can anyone tell me if they know if Nat West brought out a money box in the shape of a Panda?

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Tigerchips on October 02, 2007, 09:44:30 AM

I've got one, it's got a Natwest stopper.

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Sue C on October 02, 2007, 09:48:56 AM

Blimey T.C that was quick, i asked because i picked one up the other day, but cant seem to find any referance to them, so though maybe a fake?

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Anne on October 02, 2007, 12:57:16 PM

NatWest Piggy page here doesn't mention pandas... http://www.piggybankpage.co.uk/wade_NatWest.htm - I wonder if someone's making pandas and fitting NatWest bungs to try and make them worth more? Interesting that Sue and TC have them - and they are both from the same part of the UK...  ???   :-\  Anyone else seen a NatWest panda?  TC and Sue, are they marked WADE like the piggies?

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Anne on October 02, 2007, 01:22:07 PM

Googling brought up a few refs to these on eBay... are yours like this one? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220153128482 - it seems they are legit -  eBay seems to have a few at any one time. They are also shown on here http://www.benswade.co.uk/ - he's a specialist Wade seller.

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Sue C on October 02, 2007, 01:30:22 PM

Thanks Anne, the ebay one said complete with decorators mark??? no mark on mine, has the Nat West stopper, so i wonder if this is the new line of fakes?

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Tigerchips on October 02, 2007, 08:45:38 PM

My panda with mark (http://tigerchipsmeowseum.blogspot.com/2006/11/wade-natwest-panda-bear-money-bank.html)

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Sue C on October 02, 2007, 09:42:10 PM

Ahh well,  mine has no mark, so it looks like it may be a fake, is it too early to put the warning out?? i will post a pic tomorrow.

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: benswade on October 03, 2007, 10:23:18 PM

Hi,

Wade did in fact produce a Natwest Panda in 1989. It was a follow-up to the more widely known Natwest pig family.

The panda was given to children under 7 who opened a Natwest World Savers account and the promotion was affiliated with the Worldwide Fund For Nature. These days, it's actually quite a common Wade item, although clearly not half as well known as the pigs. They tend to fetch ?10 to ?20 each. Some carry a Wade mould mark on the underside of the base, and some don't.

I very much doubt anyone would go to the effort of counterfeiting these items, due to their relatively low value. I've yet to see a fake myself. So if you have a Natwest panda, the chances are it's genuine Wade.

Hope this helps.

Ben

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Anne on October 03, 2007, 10:46:46 PM

Hi Ben, thank you for this info, it's very reassuring to know these are legit items. Also, can I say welcome to the pottery board, I'm delighted you came and registered with us, and I hope you'll find us useful, interesting and fun. (The Cafe is very un-serious and folks tend to let their hair down there, but everywhere else we are pretty focused on pottery.  ;))

I've also added your website to our Links page here: http://www.yobunny.com/pottery/index.php?action=links;cat=5

Title: Re: Nat West
Post by: Sue C on October 04, 2007, 03:46:34 PM

Hi Ben, thanks for the info, why did Wade mark some and not others?

BTW, welcome.
 :hug:

Title: Re: Wade Nat West
Post by: benswade on October 06, 2007, 10:28:50 PM

Hi Sue,

Thanks. I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. They must have been made using different moulds, but as to why the moulds were made differently, I have no idea.

Ben