Cast Iron Car Bank 1917

I hava a cast iron car bank that I am interested in learning about.

I have found many similar banks online that have bank advertising stamped on them. Mine has no advertising on it.

The license plate says 1917, there is a "3" formed on the underside of the passenger side running board. No manufacturing information on it at all.

The bottom plate is a piece of sheet metal with four screws holding it in place. The coin slot is in the middle of this.

First of all I would like to learn if this is somekind of a knock off, a blank that was never used for advertising . . . ?

Any help I can get is appreciated. I would also like to find online resources for researching this.