What are the Different Types of Piggy Banks?
Piggy banks are traditionally ceramic containers shaped like a round pig with a slot in the top for change or occasionally paper money. Some piggy banks have a plug in the bottom allowing money to be retrieved, while others must be smashed for the money to be recovered. Piggy banks are so named because of a Middle English word, pygg, which describes a type of clay commonly used for making money vessels. Originally, these were simple ceramic pots in which money would be kept, but as the word changed to be pronounced more like pig, ceramicists began making the containers in the shape of the animal. A perhaps apocryphal story tells of a specific potter in the 18th century who received a large order for pygg jars and misunderstood the request, creating all of the jars in the shape of the animal. When the jars sold out quickly from his retailers, other manufacturers adopted the practice. In modern times, piggy banks come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Many adopt the shapes of other anima
