A HAND-CARVED oak replica of the famous Silver Swan hopes to “coin it in” for the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle.
Furniture makers Anthony Nixon, of Barnard Castle, spent 200 hours making the wooden version which stands in the entrance hall.
The original 230-year-old automaton was once coin operated, and many visitors recall putting sixpence – 2½p in today’s terms – in a slot to operate it. It is played just once a day to preserve its delicate mechanism.
This wooden version, which is painted silver, has a slot which directs coins into the head of the bird. When enough are collected, the swan dips its neck and deposits the cash into a collecting box. Company owner Derek Nixon said it was surprisingly difficult to make.
“I’m certain we’ve disproved several accepted laws of leverage and gravity over the last couple of weeks!” he said.
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