This Little Piggy is For Pennies

by Jessica Gold

Looking for a place to house some spare change? Don’t bother with that bowl or that ugly jar, just head right out and buy a good ol’ fashioned piggy bank. They are decorative, practical and fun. That spare change that you plunk into piggy could turn into quite a few dollars over time. It is quite alright to shake the bank and borrow a few coins here and there, but don’t break into the bank until it’s full. Use it to stop a bad habit (coin in the bank for eating that chocolate) or as an incentive (cleaned your room? Drop a coin in the piggy.) You’ll be surprised to see how fun it is and how fast that bank fills up.

There wasn’t an inventor with the last name of Piggy who came up with the clever idea. In fact, piggy banks really have a pretty simplistic origin. We have housewives from the Middle Ages to thank. It is thought that the name “piggy bank” originated from the orange clay pygg from which it was first made. Back during the Middle Ages, people used to store salt and other items in a wide-necked jar called a pygg. The jar kept the name “pygg,” and, eventually, “pig,” long after the potters stopped using the orange clay. Housewives of that time used to throw their coins into pyggs, making a useful collection.

It also thought that piggy banks were created in England. By the eighteenth century, English money jars were nicknamed “pig banks.” These jars were ceramic and did not have a hole in the bottom like modern piggy banks. In order to release the coins, the bank had to be broken.

In some European countries, especially the Netherlands and German-speaking countries, it is considered an old custom to give piggy banks as gifts. In these cultures, pigs are believed to bring good luck and fortune. Some people in Europe even exchange “lucky pigs” on New Year’s Eve. Just as children in our culture are given piggy banks as birthday or holiday presents to help encourage them to save money, European children receive piggy banks as good luck and good habit-building gifts.

As a mom, piggy banks have bailed me out of many situations when I needed to convince my three-year-old son to do something. He loves coins and spending money. The other day, three of his friends’ moms and I drove the boys to a ceramics studio to let them paint their own piggy banks. Now, if my son cleans up his toys without being asked, he gets a coin for piggy. Thanks to the painted piggy banks, the other moms are trying the same thing. As we all drove off, we laughed, “piggy banks to the rescue!”

Personalizedpiggybanks.com is a site devoted exclusively to the piggy bank. But be forewarned, piggy banks have now morphed into ducky banks, doggy banks and pretty much any type of animal bank that you could think of. The personalized doggy bank barks, the ducky quacks and the kitten bank even purrs. For $29.95, you can get a bank personalized with your name. Each of these banks is made of white ceramic and has a rubber stopper on the bottom so you don’t have to break the bank.

PiggybankofAmerica.com sells a large variety of banks, featuring some with an oriental, nautical and a variety of different animal themes. Their ceramic banks come in many sizes and shapes. Their largest banks are 21’’ tall and can store a lot of spare change. The banks range in price from $24.99 all the way up to $399.99 for the largest bank.

Piggy banks are truly great. It’s never too early to give a child a thorough and meaningful education on the value of a coin. Let them save their money in the bank, take it to the coin machine, cash it out and realize the value of every penny. For couples trying to save for a dream vacation, get a fun bank and drop coins in at the end of every day…… you’ll be surprised at just how quickly it adds up.

Once you purchase one piggy bank, you will feel the need to purchase more. They are so decorative and ornamental that piggy banks really do look great in any room. Perhaps that’s why there are websites devoted to piggy bank collectors and so many hits on every bank that goes up for auction on eBay. May we never take pigs for granted.