Why is a money box shaped like a pig?

That familiar little pig on a child's shelf has a history far more complicated than it looks. Pig-shaped money boxes are linked to centuries-old ideas about saving, prosperity and pigs as stores of wealth. But the popular story that the word “piggy” came from a mysterious medieval clay called pygg turns out to be a myth. (wikimedia commons)

Real Pigs Were Once Savings: Long before ceramic piggy banks, real pigs could function as a household's savings account. Families could raise a pig using food scraps and later sell or slaughter it for meat, trade goods or emergency money. This connection between pigs and stored wealth helped make the animal a symbol of thrift. (unsplash)

The “Pygg Clay” Story Is a Myth: A popular explanation claims that medieval Europeans stored coins in pots made from an orange clay called “pygg,” eventually inspiring pig-shaped money boxes. But historians and etymologists have found no historical evidence for such a clay or for “pygg banks.” The story appears to have spread through modern popular-history books and later the internet. (facebook: call federal credit union)

“Pig” Did Once Mean an Earthenware Vessel: There is, however, an intriguing linguistic connection. From at least the 15th century, “pig” was used in Scotland and northern England for certain earthenware vessels such as pots and jars. By the late 1700s, earthenware money banks with slots for coins called “pirly pigs” were being used in Scotland, although they weren't shaped like pigs. (ashmolean museum oxford)

Early Pig Banks Had to Be Broken: The term “pig bank” appeared in print in the United States by 1898, with another reference in 1900 describing a novelty bank that had to be “killed” to retrieve the money. These early banks generally had no removable stopper, meaning the container had to be smashed open to get the coins out. (unsplash)

“Piggy Bank” Came Later: The phrase “piggy bank” wasn't recorded until around 1913, roughly a decade after “pig bank” appeared. By the early 20th century, pig shaped money boxes had become popular children's objects, combining a playful appearance with a lesson in saving money. (unsplash)

Pig Shaped Money Boxes Are Centuries Old: The idea of a pig shaped savings container actually predates the modern Western piggy bank. Archaeologists have found 14th-century terracotta pig shaped money boxes in Java, known as celengans, which were likely used to store Chinese copper coins. The tradition may have developed independently, showing how widely pigs came to symbolise prosperity. (blibli)