16 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN September 2026 Chalkware Bull Banks MARK BOGGESS | DIRECTOR, U.S. MEAT ANIMAL RESEARCH CENTER Some of you may know me as the director of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, but what you may not know is that I am also a collector of “remarkable things.” One thing I really like to collect and often restore are “chalkware” bull coin banks. To my knowledge I had not seen a chalkware bull bank until I moved to Nebraska in 2018. The first one I spotted was in an antique store and I was hooked. I consider these banks to be a Nebraska phenomenon and have been hunting them and trying to learn as much as possible ever since! Here’s what I have learned about these bull banks along the way. The chalkware bull banks that interest me were originally made by the Nebraska Art Statuary in Omaha during the 1940s and 1950s and were often used as carnival prizes across the Midwest. There are two common sizes: a 9-inch, stylized design and a larger 13-inch more realistic design. My interest is only the larger 13-inch version. The most common type or breed of bull banks is Herefords, and they were made from a soft, chalkware plaster, giving them a textured, hand-crafted appearance. All of these were produced from the same soft molding process, so they are identical in general shape and form but vary in thickness and dimension due to the soft mold. The Hereford banks were also painted in a virtually identical fashion that indicates a fast and efficient painting process. The Hereford bull motif was most popular in the ʻ40s and ʻ50s, reflecting the cattle industry’s cultural significance in Nebraska. These original bull banks are stamped with “Nebraska Art Statuary” on the belly near the left flank, and they all have a circular access point on the sternum that could be broken out to retrieve your coins. Unfortunately, I have not yet found any information on the production process, the history of the company or the fate of the mold. Over the last few years, I have steadfastly monitored several auction sites and online vendors, looking for these bull banks. And, while the Hereford bull version is by far the most common (more than 90 percent), there are other breeds and one key interesting variation. Some of the banks have the Nebraska Art Statuary stamp, but many do not. Of those with the stamp, I have found the following variations: Hereford, Charolais and Hereford-Angus (black baldy). Based on my observations, the Charolais and black baldy banks are very rare. There are also a few Angus banks to be found. These are clearly produced by the same mold and process but modified to be polled. However, of the handful I have seen, none have the Nebraska Art Statuary stamp. Of the bull banks described above, one interesting variation exists. A few of each of these were produced with the Nebraska state map across the top of the bull and embossed with “Nebraska The Beef State.” This variation also includes Angus without the Nebraska Art Statuary stamp. The chalkware bulls with the Nebraska state map are my holy grail, and these are very rare indeed. In addition to Angus, there are several other traditional and custom variations of the chalkware bull banks without the Nebraska Art Statuary stamp. They are from the same mold but modified somewhat in form, shape or color. While the history of these variations is also not known, I speculate that the original Nebraska Art Statuary mold was possibly sold or copied, and that many of these banks were produced somewhere else. These variations include some that were PAST
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