FAQ's 2 - Piggy Banks

What is the name of a piggy bank
in any foreign language?
Bulgarian: касичка (kasika)
Czech:  pokladnička prasátko
Danish: sparegris
Dutch: spaarvarken
Finnish: säästöpossu
French:  tirelire cochon
German: Sparschwein
Hungarian: szpár-farkan
Indonesian: celengan
Italian: salvadanaio porcellino
Japanese: buta-san chokinbako
Malaysian: tabung piggy
Norwegian: sparegris
Polish: scarbonka šwinka
Portuguese: mealheiro porco/ porcuinho
Rumanian: Puşculiţă porc
Russian: копилка – свинья (kopilka - svin’ya)
Slovakian: pokladnička prasátko
Portuguese: mealheiro porco
South-African: spaarvarkie
Spanish:  hucha cerdito
Turkish: domuz kumbara
Supplements? Send me an e-mail!

Is it possible to identify the age of my piggy bank? Yes, but only roughly. Identifiers are: factory or potters hallmarks, the type of glaze, the form (the mould has a traceable history), type of clay (for experts only), text or pictures on the piggy bank, the piggybank in your family (as in “your great-grandmother got it at the age of 6 from her mother”), where was it bought (seems stupid but gives, if other identifyers are not available, sometimes a clue!), etc.

I have a piggy bank similar to what you showed but I bought in a different country than were you originated this piggy bank. Small mistake? No, not a mistake. The moulds are traded all over the world. I can give you an example. See the piggy banks on the left. The original mould was made in France and in production until 1932!

Buying antique piggy banks is tricky if you are not an expert. Most antique earthenware can be identified by a factory hallmark, piggy banks also! If you want a particular antique piggy buy it for the price you have in mind and don’t forget to negotiate with the seller. Don’t expect that the antique piggy bank becomes more valuable getting older, like old paintings. In the case of piggy banks that’s utter nonsense.

Why piggy banks without a stopper? I only collect piggy banks without a stopper in the belly bottom for two reasons:
In my opinion these are the authentic piggy banks. Collecting also means to limit the number of things you want to collect and to exhibit in your home. With a stopper one can buy thousands…..