Talk:Piggy bank

Etymology

Is there a reference for the second graf in etymology? It reads apocryphal to me.--Andymussell 21:29, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Sure 'nuff, I can't find a single confirming source anywhere. Somebody just put in an urban legend.

I have found a couple of references to the notion on the internet, but they are not exactly reliable sources

• Geocities
• piggy bank page see piggy bank history

Agnellous 12:12, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Escape Orbit: In relation to my edits of the etymology, I cannot cite anything because the theory just popped into my head whilst explaining something to the kids last week. Should I post it somewhere else and cite that, I think not. The theory fits too well not to be ignored. Mc 16:36, 11 March 2009 (CET) —Preceding unsigned comment added by BigMc (talk • contribs)

In that case your etymology is original research and doesn't belong on Wikipedia. I know it sounds like a good explanation, but Wikipedia doesn't publish new ideas. --Escape Orbit ^(Talk) 16:17, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Actually, it sounds too good to be true, BigMc. The expiry date for unsourced dubious materials is usually less than 4 years, so I'm deleting it. 67.188.39.143 (talk) 18:16, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Is there any possibility the modern piggy bank was intended as a whimsical play on "investing money in pork bellies"? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.127.52.204 (talk) 23:10, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

This article http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pig4.htm pretty much totally demolishes the etymology still being offered on the wiki, and considering Google kicks it up as the first answer to "piggy bank etymology", perhaps it ought to be vigorously deprecated. To quote the article "There is no record of a clay called pygg, whether orange or any other colour. The term pygg bank is not on record and piggy bank is only a century old." If anyone has access to a proper middle english or early modern english dictionary, perhaps this could be better determined. Samuel Johnson's dictionary is online, but by 1768 the word "pig" was already established (Johnson has an entry "piggin" - "in the northern provinces, a small vessel", which might correlate marginally with the apocryphal etymology). 172.103.138.179 (talk) 13:51, 12 November 2018 (UTC)just some anonymous wiki user...

Breaking the piggy bank?

How many modern piggy banks have to be broken open? Mine has a removable flap on the pig's belly, so money can be retrieved easily. Joyous! | Talk 16:14, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

Why isn't there anything in the article about breaking open the banks? "breaking the bank"? Not all have ready access and aren't some designed to be broken open once full? I thought that was half the fun? Candleabracadabra (talk) 00:37, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

I removed the unreferenced mention of breaking a piggy bank. It is very easy to extract any coins with a knife and any notes with tweezers, but I don't have a RS for that (just a YouTube video). Shantavira|^{feed me} 18:57, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

I used to get money out of my piggy bank with a knife as well, but that doesn't make the claim wrong that they were intended to be broken. It is referred to so frequenctly in so many different places that it would be astonishing if it were wrong. SpinningSpark 12:15, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

You can buy Piggy banks without holes that you have to break. Makes you think twice before you make a withdrawal. PrisonerB (talk) 12:30, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

They cost way more than was ever contained in mine. It probably isn't possible to get that much money in them in old Lsd coins. SpinningSpark 13:01, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

Famous Piggy Banks?

The "Famous Piggy Banks" section consists of a few American examples of where images of a piggy bank are used as icons. Is it really noteworthy that a couple of US TV game shows (none of which anyone outside of America will have heard of) make use of piggy banks in some of their rounds? The piggy bank is widely used as an icon throughout the world to signify anything to do with money or saving. It seems pointless to pick on a few obscure examples. 86.185.44.170 (talk) 22:13, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

I don't see how including famous American examples in any way detracts from the piggy bank's use in other countries. Even if America weren't a large, notable country, I can assure you that people outside the US have heard of Toy Story, The Price is Right, and Let's Make a Deal. 71.223.242.78 (talk) 18:10, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• A modern money box.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 12:24, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

Lede

"Piggy bank (sometimes penny bank or money box) is the traditional name (…)"; then, in Origins / Pig-shaped money box: "There are a number of folk etymologies regarding the English language term "piggy bank," but in fact, there is no clear origin for the phrase, which dates only to the 1940s." So is it traditional or relatively new?

Then: "The use of the name 'piggy bank' gave rise to its widely recognized 'pig' shape (…)" – this is at least counterintuitive, are there any sources explaining how it wasn't the converse? 89.64.80.240 (talk) 19:15, 16 December 2021 (UTC)

I've removed "The use of the name 'piggy bank' gave rise to its widely recognized 'pig' shape", since it seems that the shape predates the name. I think the use of the term "traditional" is not a huge problem: in that context, I tend to interpret "traditional name" more as "folk name" than as "old name". It would probably be better to change the wording and, e.g, to write "folk name"; but as English is not my native language I do not feel confident enough that this would be an improvement to do it. Malparti (talk) 13:11, 9 March 2024 (UTC)