Reference books
Information
Reference books
There are not many reference books on pigyy banks and very rare on pig piggy banks. Here you see what is in my library.
I have given a short description and a tiny content assessment.
The Tom Stoddard bank collection (Bertoia Auctions, 2001). This auction catalog contains 1,500 still banks out of the collection of Tom and Loretta Stoddard, with ceramic, cast iron, die cast & wooden examples. This catalogue is a great reference for collectors, but not very useful (for me) identifying specific pig piggy banks.
Ceramic Coin Banks: Identification and Value Guide by Tom & Loretta Stoddard. (Collector Books, 1997. Stoddard’s favourites were still banks of ceramic. Starting his collection in 1988 he was astonished about the lack of literature on banks. So he and his wife wrote it them themselves. A useful book.
Tirelires – Barbotine, grès et porcelaine, Maryse Bottero (Éditions Massin, 2004). This is my favorite book, though in French. But with nice pictures and descriptions that are helpful to identify (mainly French) banks, amongst them many pig piggy banks.
Schwein haben, Hans-Dieter Dannenberg (Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena, 1990). About the history of the pig and „pig culture”. In this nice book (in German) also attention for the pig as symbol and in this connection the pig piggy bank.
Von Glücksschwein zum Sparschwein, Kurt Nagel en Gerhard Riegraf (Gerhard Riegraf KG – Tresor Verlag, 1986). The story of luck and fortune and its symbols through the ages. The pig piggy bank (Sparschweinchen) is one of the luck symbols. Nice pictures of pig statuettes and a few pig piggy banks.
Money Banks 1850 – 1940 (3 volumes), Beth Baddeley Huebner (Xlibris.com, 2008). This is a picture book with descriptions of the origin of the banks and its estimated value. She received information from Lothar Graff (president EMBC) en Ulrieke Riegraf-Blank (member EMBC), Don Duer (Penny Banks around the World) and many others.
Kulturgeschichte des Sparens, Hans Peter Turn (Deutscher Sparkassenverlag GmbH Stuttgart, 1982). The scope of this book is the culture of saving money through the ages. “Thrift is as old as humanity” is the theses of this book, also the way people saved differs.
Coin Banks by Bantrico, James L. Redwine (Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2001). Cast metal coin banks have helped millions of people save money. Over 1,000 colour photos show the diversity of Banthrico coin banks, made in Chicago from 1931 until 1985.For the collector there is information about the company, materials, 900 styles, advertising, sizes and rarity.
The Penny Bank Book, Andy en Susan Moore (Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2008). A classic treasury, this book has more than 1,670 still banks beautifully presented in colour and many more black and white illustrations. Focusing on American and English banks, there are many lovely examples of still banks from other countries as well, all rated in terms of their scarcity.
Penny Banks around the World, Don Duer (Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2007). Over 1,600 penny banks are identified and displayed in this book. These vintage banks, which once helped children learn to save their money, now attract adults who find their variety, beauty, and sense of thrift very appealing.
Identifying pig piggy banks
It is not easy to identify the origin of a piggy bank, 90% of them have no hallmark. Often it seems clear from which country they are, but the factory or potter that made them remains unknown. The possibility that a piggy bank is from Czechoslovakian origin is great, 25% of the piggy banks made before the Great War (1914-1918) were produced there. If the nice antique or vintage piggy bank you bought in the UK or USA has a stamp Foreign then this bank is made elsewhere (China, Japan) and imported.
An additional complication in identifying the origin of piggy banks is the fact that the moulds were traded all over the world. A nice piggy bank made in Germany can have a twin everywhere.