Probably one of the most famous sets of ceramic piggy banks has to be the National Westminster piggy bank family. The original set of piggy banks consisted of five pink ceramic piggy banks and were produced by Wade and introduced in 1983. They were part of a promotion on behalf of the National Westminster bank to encourage young savers. A ceramic piggy bank figure of Woody was given out to each child under the age of 12 between 1984 and 1989 who opened a savings account with the National Westminster bank. Then if they reached the six monthly savings targets they would then receive the further incentive of the next piggy bank in the family.
This piggy bank family consisted of Woody the baby, sitting down in his terry nappy complete with ultra-large nappy pin. Annabel and Maxwell the two older school age children. Annabel is decked out in full school uniform and Maxwell looks like any other typical youngster standing with his hands in his pockets and with a lopsided grin on his face. We then have Lady Hilary, the elegant mother dressed smartly in a light blue blouse and navy skirt. And finally grand Sir Nathaniel Westminster complete with red rose in the breast pocket of his smart banking suit jacket.
To me it’s this wonderful attention to the smaller details by Alan Maslankowski such as Sir Nathaniel’s rose and Maxwell’s grin that gives these ceramic piggy banks their charm and is probably the main contributing factor as to why these adorable ceramic piggy banks have become such sought after collector’s pieces.
Usually we look inside our piggy banks to determine their worth in what its hides in its belly. However if you have a collection of these pink ceramic piggy banks then you may be surprised to realise that they are going to be worth a lot more than the small bits of loose change that you have been feeding them on for the past few years.
A full collection of the National Westminster pigs are worth around £200 or $400 if they are in good condition, with each individual pig varying in value. Obviously Woody was the most common of the ceramic piggy banks with Sir Nat being the most exclusive and this is reflected in their particular value.
There are a lot of fake pink ceramic piggy banks around so it is important to ensure your pig is in the correct colourway. As a general guide each pig is pink and has a raised “Wade” or “Wade England” backstamp on its base even though they were in fact made in the County Armagh Northern Ireland Wade pottery.
• Woody in his white nappy and either a silver or grey safety pin is worth about £20 or $40. • Annabel in her green gym slip and white school blouse carrying behind her a blue duffle bag has a price of around £30 or $60. • Maxwell is wearing a red and white tie and blue dungaree trousers. For him the value is £45 / $90 • Lady Hilary in her elegant light blue blouse complete with dark blue bow, navy skirt and grey handbag is £35 which is $70 • Then lastly Sir Nat in his jet black suit, with red bow tie and rose is worth a staggering £75 or $150.
As well as these models there were also a limited number of Woody colourway ceramic money boxes made, which were glazed with 22k gold leaf. These expensive models were made and presented to the National Westminster Bank board of directors. However 25 gold Woody’s were also given out as prizes in a National Westminster treasure hunt. Due to the small number of gold Woody’s made, these 22k gold ceramic piggy banks are very rare.
Another rare piggy bank is the Sir Nathaniel Westminster 22k gold pig. He sports a blue spotted bow tie and is extremely rare. He like the gold Woody was a grand prize in a later competition.
In February 1998 a sixth pig was added to the set – Cousin Wesley – He was used as an incentive for the new Natwest Children’s bond, however you had to tie up a large sum because to get a Wesley meant an investment of £1000 in the childs name for five years. Due to this high qualifying factor only 5000 Wesleys were known to have been produced.
2006 saw the return of the Gold National Westminster ceramic piggy banks in the guise of another Gold Woody. Anyone opening a new account during this 8 day promotion in April gave them a chance of winning from £100 to £10,000 in cash prizes plus each winner received a limited edition gold Woody pig. This time this gold Woody is a little smaller than the original Woody and was issued with a certificate stating his authenticity.
This year we see a 22k Gold Annabel being offered in a free prize draw along with cash prizes for Natwest savings and investments. So it appears that the ceramic piggy bank is making a comeback as a golden ceramic piggy bank. However whatever type of Natwest ceramic piggy bank you have it is obvious that whoever you bank with the ceramic piggy bank is worth holding onto.
For more information about Wade piggy banks please visit:
http://www.wade-in-england-pottery.blogspot.com
