Why do we save our coins in a piggy bank? As you well know, many ceramic piggy banks do not have an opening to remove the money. The theory goes that this is to serve as a lesson in finance for children. The piggy bank enables a child to save their money but forces them to justify its spending, because in order to access the money they need to break their piggy bank. The question still remains, however, why is it called a piggy bank and why is it in the shape of a pig? One theory is that just as it was common to purchase a piglet and feed it with scraps until it was finally ready for slaughter, so too we feed our piggy bank with small change ("scraps") until it is full and then break it to reap the rewards of our investment. A more popular theory is that the original piggy bank had absolutely nothing to do with a pig! In the Middle Ages, when metal was expensive, an inexpensive orange colored clay called pygg was the common media for making pots and jars and was referred to as a pygg jar. These jars were often used to hold coins and eventually, the pygg jar or pygg bank used for coins became known as a pig bank or piggy bank! The general consensus is that this evolution transpired a few hundred years ago in England when crafters were hired to make pygg banks and not being familiar with pygg they made ceramic pig shaped banks. 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! Perhaps there was some connection between the pig and saving money in that culture but it seems to have not influenced Western culture, where the modern piggy bank only evolved from pygg clay just a few hundred years ago.
Interesting piggy bank 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.
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» 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 they were 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!
In January 2002, the Museum of American Finance in New York City debuted a national traveling exhibit of 40 unique, antique and contemporary banks. "America's Coin Banks," sponsored by Coinstar, which chronicles the history of one of the hallmarks of American culture and everyday life.The first U.S. coins were minted in 1793. Since then, Americans have sought to save and store their money, resulting in the creation of the coin bank. The physical appearance of the bank has evolved over the years from the traditional ceramic piggy bank, which was designed as a toy to teach and encourage children to save their pennies, to today's boxes of metal and plastic used to market products, movies and businesses. Whether stuffed with coins or on display, coin banks are found in the majority of American households.At an early age, children are encouraged to place their change in piggy banks, thus learning the importance of saving their money. Coin banks have been around for more than 150 years, and the exhibit will help examine the historical precedent for saving and investing.
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