Piggy bank

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Piggy bank from around 1970

Piggy bank (sometimes penny bank or money box) is the traditional name of a coin accumulation and storage receptacle; it is most often, but not exclusively, used by children. The piggy bank is known to collectors as a "still bank" as opposed to the "mechanical banks" popular in the early 20th century. These items are also often used by corporations for promotional purposes.

Piggy banks are typically made of ceramic or porcelain, and serve as a pedagogical device to teach the rudiments of thrift and savings to children; money can be easily inserted, but in the traditional type of bank the pig must be broken open for it to be retrieved. Most modern piggy banks, however, have a rubber plug located on the underside; others are made of vinyl and have a removable nose for easy coin access. Some piggy banks incorporate electronic systems which calculate the amount of money deposited. ^[1]

[edit] Etymology

Roman vase-shaped money box (2nd-3rd century AD). Ancient money boxes appear in the archaeological record in a wide variety of shapes.^[2]

In Middle English, "pygg" referred to a type of clay used for making various household objects such as jars. People often saved money in kitchen pots and jars made of pygg, called "pygg jars". By the 18th century, the spelling of "pygg" had changed and the term "pygg jar" had evolved to "pig bank." ^[3]

Once the meaning had transferred from the substance to the shape, piggy banks began to be made from other substances, including glass, plaster, and plastic.

The oldest find of a money box dates from 2nd century BC Greek colony Priene, Asia Minor, and features the shape of a little Greek temple with a slit in the pediment. Money boxes of various forms were also excavated in Pompeii and Herculaneum, and appear quite frequently on late ancient provincial sites, particularly in Roman Britain and along the Rhine.^[2]

Majapahit terracotta piggy bank, 14-15 century A.D. Trowulan, East Java. (Collection of National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta)

In a curious case of parallel evolution, the Indonesian term celengan (a celeng is a wild boar, with the "an" affix used to denote a likeness) was also used in the context of domestic banks. The etymology of the word is obscure, but evident in a Majapahit piggy bank from the 15 century A.D.^{[citation needed]}

An alternative theory of the etymology of the Piggy Bank is that in ancient times, scraps of food, and food that would otherwise spoil, could be "saved" and/or "invested" (and to an extent "recycled") by being fed to the domestic pig and in doing so fattening the pig for subsequent eating or sale. As pigs eat such a variety of foods in so many conditions, the strategy paid off for peoples in all continents and the strategy was passed on from generation to generation. Then when money was introduced into society, the already firmly established cultural habit of saving food scraps by depositing them in the pig was then supplemented, and in more developed/urban societies was supplanted, by the saving of scraps of money rather than food in the piggy bank.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Uses

The general use of piggy banks is to store loose change in a quaint, decorative manner. Modern piggy banks are not limited to the likeness of pigs, and may come in a range of animal shapes, sizes and colours. Some collect piggy banks as a hobby.

[edit] Famous

Rachel, the official mascot of Pike Place Market in Seattle

Rachel, the official mascot of Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, is a bronze cast piggy bank that weighs nearly 600 pounds, located at the corner of Pike Place under the "Public Market Center" sign.

Rachel was designed by local artist Georgia Gerber and modeled after a pig (also named Rachel) that lived on Whidbey Island and was the 1977 Island County prize-winner. Rachel receives roughly $9,000USD annually in just about every type of world currency, which is collected by the Market Foundation to fund the Market's social services.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Piggy bank

• What's the origin of the piggy bank? (from The Straight Dope)
• The Piggy Bank page Photographs and Facts about Piggy Banks
• Piggy Bank Project Hundreds of Piggy Characters and customised ceramic Piggy Banks