Welcome to Money Boxes
Money boxes are designed to store money of smaller denominations coins and are available in many different designs, with some being equipped with lock and keys so as to secure the contents. However, increasingly novelty money boxes are used as ornaments or collectables, not just somewhere to keep your loose change after a night out.
Money boxes make a superb present for all occasions, for all ages, for birthday’s, christening, collectors, Christmas and parties, some are produced from sustainable sources of timber and use off cuts from furniture making, the dyes and paints used are toxin free and are safe for children.
Money boxes are a great way to save and to encourage & teach children to save their money, they have been around for a long time and are often referred to as piggy banks as the piggy shaped money box is among the most widely sold kind there is, along with the house shaped money box.
Money boxes of the early medieval period are fairly rare, as the coinage of this time was in such a debased and poor condition one must assume that few people had enough money or the inclination to save it. Mediaeval money boxes are sometimes “bun-shaped” and a good example of this type dating from the late thirteenth century was found amongst the wares produced in the mediaeval kilns at Rye, Sussex, when they were excavated in the 1930s.
Several money boxes from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries have been found with their contents intact, but nearly all of these were discovered in Scotland. Money boxes of the early and late Tudor period are much more common and well represented in most of our larger museums. Both the British and London museums have collections of good fifteenth and sixteenth century examples though the familiar globular shape and speckled green glaze make the inspection of these rather monotonous. No doubt these were the type which were put out for tips at Christmas time by the Tudor apprentices. Maidstone museum has one little broken money box of the fifteenth century on show which is typical of its period, with a long narrow slot in its side to accommodate the thin coinage of the day. Most of the globular money boxes of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries have the money slot running in a vertical direction, but this is by no means the rule. Many money boxes are found virtually whole except for a neat break along one side of the money slot, a result of the owner trying to extract the contents without destroying the pot. Anyone who has experienced the pleasurable anticipation of inserting a knife blade into a money box slot will know that too much heavy-handed leverage can end in disaster.
Money boxes are a very popular choice for people looking for a perfect gift to celebrate a new birth or perhaps to commemorate a christening or other special occasion and are lovely for all ages as they can combine the hobbies and interests of the intended gift recipient with an unusual and thoughtful personalised gift. Money boxes provide a practical keepsake which will encourage the child to save their pennies and watch their fortunes grow. Money boxes are a present that any parent and child would love to receive and they have plenty of room to keep all those first pennies.
Money boxes are available in multiple styles, materials and designs, and many collectible pieces were fashioned out of tin, while others were made from wood or ceramics and the oldest money boxes date back to 2nd century Asia Minor. The wide selection of different styles ensure that they will appeal to just about every boy and girl with everything from sophisticated digital and electronic money boxes to more traditional piggy banks and wooden money boxes.
Money boxes are free-standing with a coin slot at the top and usually have an opening flap, however some recent tin money boxes can only be opened with a can opener and so are the ideal money box for children to store all their small change without being able to easily retrieve it.
As we become more dependent on e-money and money paid by cards, it is becoming more of a figure on our screens than a tangible physical item. What place will money boxes (a system to horde physical tangible items), have in the future?. Isn’t tangibility of money very important in how we learn about savings, hence why money boxes still exist. They are a great way of teaching kids the value of money but with electronic money, is the system in which kids learn still the same and as effective?.
Money Boxes Video
