Petite *First With Credit Card Mechanism

This was made by Ohio Art of England in 1984. It was the second cash register of my collection, which I bought at K-Mart the very year it came out. This is the earliest example of a toy cash register with credit card capabilities that I am aware of. 

It’s quite the peculiar design too. You place the plastic credit cards under the mechanism with a piece of paper on top. When you slide the mechanism down, it transfers the picture from the card to the paper, similar to a gravestone rubbing. Another unique characteristic is the way the "digital" price works. This isn't a digital toy, but it's designed to look like one. Put the credit card/sales item cards into the "Digital Price Readout" and it looks like a digital number  comes up. In fact, this is done by a clever design on the cards. 

This item is also unusual because it was made in England by Byron International, Chelsea Street, Nottingham.. Almost all contemporary toys are made in Asian countries, with a far smaller percentage made in America. Distributed by the Ohio Art Company, Bryan, Ohio, Copyright Dobson Park Engineering. 

The Credit Card Mechanism

A Completed Credit Card "Receipt"

Fronts of the Credit/Product/Price Cards

Back of the Credit/Product/Price Cards

This is how the "digital" readout looks.
The design is really quite ingenious since there is no electronics involved.

 
Another example of the "digital" readout