Tuesday Treasure: Rocket bank

I've decided to begin a new feature: Tuesday Treasure.

On occasional Tuesdays I'll photograph and write about my most treasured objects, many of which I've just recently taken from packing boxes where they've been stored for the last few years.

This is my rocket bank:

I especially love my rocket bank because it's one of only two toys that survived my childhood. Everything else was thrown away!
I didn't realize it till years later when I wondered where all my toys had gone. I thought they were in my parents basement, but it turns out that every time my dad got fed up with the junk down there, he'd just throw everything away.

Also, sometime in the early 70s, my mom gave my Barbie collection to my cousins - an act I'm still a little pissed about. These were classic Barbies from the early 60s! My Barbies! What a shame.

But at least I still have my rocket bank. It works by pulling back the little bomb on the side, loading a coin in the slot, and then pushing the red button which causes the bomb to shoot the coin into the bank .

What remains of a sticker on the top of the bank once said, "Karmazin employees Credit Union." My mom was an employee of Karmazin, so I'm assuming she got this bank as a perk for opening an account, or something like that.

I'm guessing I've had this rocket since sometime in the mid-60s. It has "ASTRO MFG. Detroit" and a patent number stamped on it, so I wonder if it was unique to the Detroit area?

I doubt it's worth much as a collectible, but I do hope it might be passed down and appreciated as a family heirloom of sorts some day - and not just thrown away as junk!