How the piggy bank got it name
WHY is it caalled a piggy bank? Megan Cohen knows (it’s nothing to do with pigs):
In [the Midde Ages], when the question of where to keep money arose, people didn’t typically have the option of a local bank. Instead, the answer oftentimes involved keeping their valuables in a vessel made of pygg.
What was pygg, exactly? Pygg, a word with Old English origins, was a type of dense orange clay, popular in Western Europe for its use in the creation of a wide variety of containers, jars, and cups. The common name for these containers was “pygg jars.” As the pygg jars were fairly ubiquitous, they were used for storing a variety of items, including money.
Pigs and banking fits, doen’t it?
Posted: 11th, January 2013 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
