English Pottery

25 May, 2008 in art pottery by admin

English Pottery

The History Of The Piggy Bank

Saving money, or treasures, is a common idea that has been around since near the beginning of time. Adults and children alike are driven to hold onto even the least value of coins in a safe place. Many people have a fond childhood memory of filling up their piggy bank with pennies and other money. The pure delight in a child's eye to drop the coins into the slot and hearing them clang in the belly of the cute little pig is priceless. While many people share a common knowledge of the purpose and ownership of a piggy bank, very few people take into consideration why a pig is used to represent the saving of coins and other money. How did this tradition of saving and dropping money into a pig come to exist?

The origin of storing money in a swine shaped container actually derived from a mistake in language terms made years ago. The entire development of the piggy bank is based on the misuse of a word. It all began around the fifteenth century in the Middle Ages. During this time period, some household utensils, instead of metal, were made from a cheaper type of clay known as pygg.

Many homes had jars and other storage containers made from the economical pygg clay. When families could find extra money to be saved, the women would drop the coins into the jar or container that was made of the pygg clay. Thus, they were saving the money in their pygg jar or pygg bank. This name for the saving jar soon stuck.

As time moved forward and headed into the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the tradition of saving money in a pygg jar was still very much alive. However, the term pygg was no longer associated with a cheap type of clay as it was originally given because the pygg clay was no longer commonly used. When the term pygg was used, it was naturally assumed to be the term pig, meaning the animal. Therefore, when people requested the English pottery makers to produce a pygg bank, they naturally created a savings bank literally in the shape of a pig.

The cute little pigs that were designed for saving money were loved by children and older customers alike. The small little pigs soon became very popular and in demand for holding loose change and extra coins. Children all across the country began asking for the pigs. The term pig bank soon became piggy bank as to add to the cuteness of the product.

The piggy bank, as a coin holder, quickly made its way into society and has been produced in all different sizes, colors, and styles. Even today, we are still placing our coin savings in the small piggy banks. The popularity and demand for the product that is now well known and used in many different countries all began with the misinterpretation of a Middle Age term meaning clay.

About the Author

Original article by Stanley Lewis for Everything-Personalised, a UK based one personalised gifts shop.

Is there a research tool available to value pottery, pewter, etc...?

I would like to find a value for the silly little pewter jug I purchased on the cheap. It cleaned up nicely and has markings :TML Thomson Gale Company BPC British Pharmaceutical Codex. English Pewter
I have actually seen similar items before, but nothing quite like this, It has a blackish handle that is shaped like an elongated ear. It opens like an old style beer tankard.

This stuff goes up and down all the time in price. In most cases, the value of these collector items goes with how identical or similar items sell at national auctions. It sounds like you have an antique medicinal container. These are odd birds to classify.

Your best bet is to go to one of those cattle call antique conventions where there are dozens of appraisers and thousands of items for evaluation. I doubt if you will find something on line but then, who knows. Good luck.

Pottery village (learn English with pie)