Antique Cash Registers: Why Collect Them?

One might ask why anyone would find an antique cash register appealing. The answer to that question lies in the actual history of the cash register. When they were first introduced in the late 1800's, storekeepers were not seduced by the mere function of the cash register, nor were they dependent on them.

Thus, in order to be marketable, cash registers had to become "show pieces",  items of interest that would lure curious customers into the store. They were contrived of intricately carved brass and silver buttons, and had a bell that was marketed as "the bell heard around the world."

James Ritty is the man who is credited with the invention of the cash register. He marketed his cash registers under the company name of "National Manufacturing Company", and he was later bought out by James Patterson and the company was renamed "National Cash Register Company".

Patterson was a very successful business man, and by 1915, his company "National Cash Register" (NCR) represented 95% of the cash register market.

The NCR cash registers were mostly brass; however, other materials were used as well. These materials included: wood, cast iron, and nickel.

By 1917, World War I placed extreme limits on metal supply. Cash registers had to be produced from less expensive materials and the elegant old cash registers were replaced with sleek, cold, functional registers.

Today, it is a rare opportunity if you come across an antique cash register. Collectors consider these vintage cash machines to be jewels, and they spend their lifetime building their collections.

One collector may have a collection that honors the progression of the register's design through the years. Another collector may celebrate the different variations of cabinet style over a specific period of time. Some collectors are even "brand specific", focusing only on NCR registers. Some collectors restore their machines, while others choose to leave them as they found them.

The internet and websites such as eBay and Craig's List have made it easier for collectors to search for parts for their machines, or for the actual machines. Websites, including the Cash Register's Collectors Club, have been created. They serve as a community for "practiced" collectors, and a source of knowledge for new collectors. They have links to find appraisals for machines, restoration advice and information on cash register-collecting conventions.

I can't help salivating over these vintage cash registers when I come across them in my travels. They remind me of Mr. Olsen, the storekeeper from "Little House on the Prairie". They make me nostalgic for simpler days, where horse-drawn carriages and dirt roads knew nothing yet of four lane highways and skyscrapers.

These old cash registers are a "temporary vacation", distracting me with their beauty -and carrying me away to a far-off place.