Ceramic moneyboxes have been produced in many countries worldwide and often for many centuries. Most examples date from the mid C19th to the early C20th and later. Moneyboxes are known by many different names depending upon location. The usual name in England is moneybox, whilst coin bank is mostly used in the United States. In Scotland they may be called pirlie banks or savings banks.
   Most collectable are those moneyboxes which have no bung hole for retrieving the coins. These coin banks were presumably intended to be smashed to get at the contents, which may explain why they are so rare. The introduction of removable plugs was widespread by around 1940.
   Ceramic moneyboxes are rare, many are so rare that only a few or even just one example is known. They come in a huge range of shapes and subjects and may be made in a wide range of wares and decorative finishes.
   The few books published on ceramic moneyboxes are pioneers into an under-researched area and inevitably contain a large number of errors. The leading books are ‘Ceramic Coin Banks’, (1997) by Tom & Loretta Stoddard [STODDARD], and ‘100 Years of Ceramic Money Banks 1850-1940 Vols.I,II & III’ (2008 & 2009) by Beth Baddeley Huebner [HUEBNER.I/II/III]. They use a widely accepted scarcity rating system that is adopted here as follows:
A, B, C, D, E, and F, with ‘A’ being (relatively) common and ‘F’ signifying extremely rare (maybe only 1 to 3 examples known). However even ‘A’ rated ceramic coin banks are scarce.