The invention of the piggy bank took place over 600 years ago in the 15th century, when people would use pots to store what money they had. At that time, metal was an expensive commodity and not frequently used for household equipment. Items such as plates and pots were made from an affordable clay called “pygg.” When people had a few extra coins, they would simply drop them into their clay jar, which they called a “pygg bank.” It wasn’t long before the pots began being referred to as a “pyggy bank.” Over the next few hundred years, people slowly forgot that “pygg” referred to the clay, and English potters began creating pots shaped like pigs. That may have been accidental, but it’s been used ever since, and that’s why we still call them piggy banks to this day.
