Ever wonder about the history of the piggy bank? I began to wonder why and how saving your money in a replica of a pig become so popular? After all, for most of us, this was/is our first bout with saving our “hard earned income”.

            I recently received my first piggy bank (at age 42).  I’ve placed my new piggybank between my abacus and my collection of Mark Twain (this place was chosen because all my clients eyes are drawn there as they enter my office).

          With that, I decided to research piggy banks and found that over time, piggybanks have become a timeless icon in America. Something that people of all ages recognize, all around the world. 

          Their history was quite unexpected. . . 

         In many societies, a pig was considered a family’s “food bank” and a symbol of good luck. They would buy a piglet from market and feed it meal scraps until it was so large they could sell it. Of course, most people today don’t keep pigs, but they do collect the banks. 

Or, as I have come to believe, the most thought theory of this history. . . 

          In the mid-1500s when metal was scarce and expensive to be widely used, household pots and jars were made out of clay. The commonly used variety was an orange clay called “pygg.” – see explanation 1 below -

         Pygg survived in its original pronunciation as “pug,” used originally for clay. People used to store items such as salt in wide necked jars which were made from the clay. Here, again, Families would collect any spare coins in these “pygg” jars that eventually came to be known as pygg banks. (Pronounced, “pug banks”) 

         Later, around the 18th century, the spelling was changed to fit new ideas about spelling. See explanation 2 below – potters and the local artisan were often asked to create pygg banks and by that time, the word sounded just like the word for the animal “pig.”  And the banks were shaped like pigs presumably out of confusion of the meaning. 

          The trend caught on and soon adults and children throughout Europe wanted a” piggy bank” of their own.

           Piggy banks are typically made of ceramic or porcelain, and now serve as an educational device to teach the basics of thrift and savings to children. The first varieties were ceramic and had no hole on the bottom so in order to retrieve any coins, the bank had to be broken. Someone later came up with the bright idea of adding a hole so coins could be taken out without destroying the bank. 

          Americans and Europeans are not the only ones who cherish piggybanks.

America: Piggybanks are given to children to encourage saving money.

China: Piggybanks are considered a lucky charm for children that encourage them to save money.

Europe: Piggybanks are given to children and adults and are thought to bring good luck and financial good fortune.

Germanic Countries: “Lucky Pigs” are given as gifts at the start of the New Year.

          Today piggybanks have become highly collectible and some of the vintage varieties are valued at hundreds of dollars. There is even a new variety, the Money Savvy Pig, – Please see these post form Get rich slowly and  the simple dollar. 

Interesting piggybank tidbits. . . 

• Clay bottles filled with hot water are still used as bed-warmers in parts of Britain, and are called “pigs” or “china pigs”; They, too, are often shaped like pigs as a visual pun. 
• Sometimes called penny bank or money box. 
• The famous phrase, “break the bank”, has nothing to do with the piggy bank. 
• Pygg, the clay, and pig, the animal, took their names from the same root word. One is clay made from mud, and the other is the animal who lived in mud. 
• British banks are banning piggy banks because they may offend some Muslims. 
• Long ago, in German speaking countries, the piggy bank was used as a reward… craftsmen gave their apprentices piggy banks to reward them for years of learning their respective profession. 
• In Holland, children saved money given to them in a pig-shaped earthenware box which was not opened until Christmas. Known as the Feast Pig, it was the “ancestor” of our modern day piggy bank. When the child opened it, she was rewarded with an assortment of “wealth” and “riches” that had been saved over the entire year. 
• The oldest recorded piggy bank in the shape of a pig is claimed to be 1500 years old from Indonesia. If this is so, it precedes the “pygg theory” by around 1000 years!

          For more information about piggy banks, the following resources are recommended: –  The following two list are provided by Michele Alice, an AuctionBytes-Update Contributing Editor. 

Books

“Bank Book,” by Bill Norman
http://tinyurl.com/55uss2

“Ceramic Coin Banks: Identification and Value Guide,” by Tom Stoddard and Loretta Stoddard
http://tinyurl.com/55g9dz

“Collectors Guide to Banks: Identification & Values: Pottery, Porcelain, Composition,” by Bev Mangus and Jim Mangus
http://tinyurl.com/62lnc2

“Collector’s Guide to Glass Banks: Identification $ Values,” by Charles V. Reynolds
http://tinyurl.com/67a5qc

“Modern Banks,” by Vickie Stulb
http://tinyurl.com/5ctlhe

“A Penny Saved: Still and Mechanical Banks,” by Don Duer
http://tinyurl.com/5zk3rp

Websites

The Piggy Bank Page (I like this one)
http://www.piggybankpage.co.uk
One of the best piggy bank sites offers concise history of piggy banks along with lots of pics and info about pigs by various potteries.

Pico’s Pigs
http://www.picospigs.com/Site/Index.asp?Lang=E
Italian/English site devoted to a personal collection. Nice pics, info, links.

When an Ordinary Ceramic Piggy Bank Is Worth More Than Its Contents
http://www.amazines.com/Collecting/article_detail.cfm/341079?articleid=341079
This article by Ruth Talbot discusses the highly collectible Wade-pottery piggy banks given away as promotions by Great Britain’s National Westminster Bank. 

explanation 1

 Pygg is a type of orange clay, once widely used for making pottery in the form of jars, cookware, and other household items due to its economical characteristics.

A piggy bank was originally a “pygg jar.” Later, the word “pygg” became less common, and its sound was reinterpreted as “pig”; only then did piggy banks actually begin to be made in the shape of a pig. The original pronunciation of “pygg” was probably closer to “pug,” but over time, the pronunciation changed due to the Great Vowel Shift and became a homonym of “pig.”

explanation 2

The Great Vowel Shift, which occurred in English back between Chaucer and Shakespeare, when sounds began moving forward in the mouth.   

 

also “Bank” originally meant “bench”.

© 2009 – 2011, Bruce Mc. All rights reserved.