Saving for a rainy day is a time honored tradition.
Save five pennies and you have a nickel, five nickels and you have a quarter. Four quarters can be turned into a dollar. Every generation has stressed the importance of saving to the next. Times have changed, but the basics have remained the same. We save for the future one penny at a time.
Mechanical Banks
Mechanical banks first appeared on the market in the late 1800's. A patent for Halls Excelsior was filed in 1869. Since then, over 400 distinct types of mechanical banks and hundreds of variations have been produced. When one manufacturer produced a bank that gained popularity, another would copy it. The Mechanical Banks were toys and they were amusing, but the intent was to teach children how to be thrifty.The Mechanical Bank gain popularity shortly after WW II. Foundries started producing them as a sideline. As the competition increased, the manufacturers strove to make their banks more complex than the competitor's. Depending on a series of levers, springs, and wheels, the characters depicted on the bank performed a stunt every time a coin was dropped into it.
Mechanical Banks
The Official Price Guide to Mechanical Banks
Amazon Price: $18.96 (as of 12/20/2009) 
A Penny Saved: Still and Mechanical Banks
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
American Genius: Nineteenth Century Bank Locks and Time Locks
Amazon Price: $95.00 (as of 12/20/2009)
The Penny Bank Book (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
Amazon Price: $37.96 (as of 12/20/2009)
Penny Banks Around the World
Amazon Price: $37.96 (as of 12/20/2009)
One penny, two...
Mechanical Banks
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Still Banks
Still banks were the first toy banks to be mass produced in the United States. They had no moving parts and usually depicted buildings, animals and people. Know what you're buying.
Whether you are a serious collector or collect banks for fun, understanding exactly what you are buying is essential. For more information of still iron banks and mechanical banks, click on the websites listed below.Mechanical Bank Collectors of America
Collectors Bank on Mechanical Toys
Toys as History
Mechanical Banks: Antique Toys
Is it a Piggy Bank or a Pygg Jar?
Did you know that the piggy in the piggy bank has little to do with pigs?
Pottery has existed for centuries. In the old days most people were poor and metal was expensive, but clay was cheap. Pygg was the cheapest type of clay so it was used in household wares and such. As the quality of pottery improved, the pygg jars were replaced with new jars. Unlike in today society, people didn't automatically throw away items that were replaced. The old jars were used to store extra coins, buttons and such. After a time, the original meaning for pygg was lost. So when a nineteenth century potter got a request for a pygg bank, he assumed the customer wanted a piggy bank and the first piggy bank was born. Vintage Piggy Banks
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byWas your piggy bank a piggy?
Piggy Banks
Silver Plated Childs Elephant Money Bank
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
Oink! Oink! Piggy Bank- Paint your Own Piggy Bank Kit
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
Royal Albert Old Cournty Roses Piggy Bank w/floral necklace
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
Teach Your Children to Save
-
Teach Your Children to Save
-
Teaching our children how to manage their money is a vital part of their education. In our spend-happy society, it's too easy to put off saving until tomorrow. Pennies are small and relatively insignificant, but like our children, they grow. The penn...
-
Raising Financially Responsible Children
-
Our children need to learn how to handle their money. We as parents know that it is a vital part of their education. Are we correct in assuming that they will learn these life skills in school? The answer to that question is no. The education system...
-
Coin Collecting for Kids
-
I started Collecting Coins as a child and started my children collecting coins when they were young as well. It is a thrilling hobby that can also be used as a starting point for many different educational explorations. Finance is the obvious one, bu...
Savings
Teach your children to save.
Making Allowances: A Dollars and Sense Guide to Teaching Kids About Money
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
The No-Cash Allowance: A Practical Guide for Teaching Your Children How to Manage Money (Mom's Choice Award Recipient)
Amazon Price: $16.95 (as of 12/20/2009)
How To Teach Kids To Be Millionaires
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
Kids and Money: A Hands-On Parent's Guide to Teach Children About Money Management and Business Basics
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
Kids, Parents & Money: Teaching Personal Finance from Piggy Bank to Prom
Amazon Price: $21.95 (as of 12/20/2009)
Money Matters
-
Living Within Your Means
-
During these uncertain economic times, the average citizen is cutting back on their spending determined not to add to their debt load. They've cut back on their driving and added a few accessories to last year's wardrobe rather than buy a new one. Fo...
-
Beginners Guide to Coin Collecting
-
I started collecting coins as a child and have continued to do so throughout my adult life. Most coin collectors slide into the hobby without conscious thought. They find a coin that interests them, a wheat penny found in the change in their pocket o...
-
Wheat Pennies
-
The Lincoln Wheat Cent, commonly referred to as a Wheat Penny was the United States one-cent coin from 1909 to 1958. It was the first United States coin to bear a portrait rather than a version of the mythical Liberty. President Roosevelt ordered the...
What are your thoughts on saving?
-
Reply
- JaguarJulie JaguarJulie Apr 26, 2009 @ 7:11 am
- You know, it's amazing just how much $$$ a piggy bank can contain! We save our coins in a large glass jar.
-
Reply
- vanidiana vanidiana Apr 16, 2009 @ 11:26 am
- Hi, great lens...! My 5* for you and I've lensrolled it on my Piggy Bank lens!
-
Reply
- jenn_halls jenn_halls Feb 13, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
- I loved learning about the pig (pygg) got started! Thanks!
-
Reply
- tdove tdove Jan 29, 2009 @ 4:16 pm
- Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!
-
Reply
- rms rms Jan 10, 2009 @ 2:13 pm
- There's just smething about a real piggy bank that gets to me. I love them and I don't know why! Great lens.
- Load More
About the Author
Lensmaster ElizabethJeanAllen has been a member since March 16 2008, has rated 4,014 lenses, favorited 445, and has created 200 lenses from scratch. Lizzy Jean donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "2009 Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments". See all my lenses
Coins and Other Currency: A Kid's Guide to Coin Collecting
Coins and Other Currency: A Kid's Guide to Coin Collecting (Robbie Readers)
Amazon Price: $26.95 (as of 12/20/2009)
Coins and Other Currency is an excellent means of teaching children about the world of finance. It starts with a collection of old coins and then branches out into metals and how coins are made, the history of money, and starting your own collection. Coins and Other Currency is both entertaining and educational.
Love This Lens?
- Rate this lens:
- Email it
- Favorite it
- Lensroll it
by ElizabethJeanAllen
I tell my students to Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, and Plan for the Future. With Squidoo I can do all three.
(more) Explore related pages
Wheat Pennies- The Lincoln Wheat Cent, commonly referred to as a Wheat Penny was the United Sta...
Flying Eagle Cent - A High Point in Pennies?- One of the more striking coins in US Mint History, the Flying Eagle Cent was als...
Collecting coins | Numismatic News | Collecting Paper Money Notes- Coindig.com is dedicated to bringing you the latest auctions, numismatic news an...
Collectable Corner Antique Toys & More- Collecting is probably the most popular hobby in the world. The types of things...
Morgan Silver Dollar Coins
- The Morgan silver dollar was first minted in 1878, with a silver purity of 90%....
Mercury Dimes- Mercury Dimes - The obverse figure is a depiction of Liberty wearing a Phrygian...
