Staffordshire Cottage Still Bank, English, circa 1880

Fine quality English late 18th century faience planter or pot, with accompanying small porcelain stand. The hand painted image depicts a young couple handsomely dressed in bright col...

Fine quality English late 18th century faience planter or pot, with accompanying small porcelain stand. The hand painted image depicts a young couple handsomely dressed in bright col...

Late 19th century Staffordshire porcelain figurine depicts a young well-dressed lady riding a handsome white horse "side saddle". She is colorful dressed i...

In the late 19th century the concept of thrift became a principle by which parents encouraged their children to safe money by putting their pennies into a "piggy bank", thus the proliferation of these items by pottery manufacturers, this particular example marked "SS" on the underneath indicating "A Smith Ltd.", Longton, England whose ceramic, china, and pottery business began in 1846 by Sampson Smith. Nicely molded and in excellent condition, this proverbial pig themed penny bank is painted overall white with a multiplicity of green "spatter" spots, the pig standing on all fours has a twisted tail in back. The original finish is beautifully glazed resulting in a lovely patina to this completely original bank with no restoration or touch up paint of any kind and all of it's original hand paint intact. Since these type of antique banks typically were made without a coin removal trap, the only way to extract the coins would have been the old "knife in the slot" method and retrieving the pennies one by one; or the more simpler method of smashing and breaking the bank, which is why locating these banks is very difficult, rendering a fine example particularly rare. This example is a wonderful addition to a collection of authentic still banks, folk art, or for those who accumulate pig items. This recently came from an estate collection of pig still banks. A similar example is referenced as #633 "Two Toned Pig" in Andy Moore's "The Penny Bank Book" written in 1984 when collecting pottery banks...

19th century Staffordshire cottage. Very folky with a "thatched" roof in gold and flocked accents.

19th century Staffordshire pottery penny bank from England in the form of a cottage with flocked details. The coin slot has a few nicks from age and use.

19th century large Staffordshire cottage with very interesting design. It has many levels and interesting architectural details, accented with h...

An unusual 19th century antique Staffordshire cottage with lovely colorful decoration. It is in perfect condition.