Posted on 05/18/2026 10:32:56 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A Texas beachcomber dredged up more than five dozen piggybanks that washed ashore from the Gulf of America but no one’s quite sure where they came from.
Jace Tunnell, a marine biologist with the Harte Research Institute, discovered 60 brightly-colored piggy banks on several beaches in South Texas this year — including 14 in just one day.
Tunnell told 12NewsNow that all of the discarded banks he’s collected, plus dozens found by other scavengers on the Bolivar Peninsula and South Padre Island, originate from South American or Caribbean countries.
“Once these piggy banks have been used, you’ll notice there’s a bunch of cuts in them. There’s no other way to get the money out, so people dispose of them, whether it’s directly in the ocean or on land,” Tunnell told the outlet.
Some of the banks appeared to have never been used, as if they were ditched immediately after purchase or even by the distributors themselves.
Two dirty plastic piggy banks, one green and one pink, rest on a wet sandy beach near the water. 4 The piggy banks are all defective. Kill 3 News Tunnell theorized the banks floated with ease because they were empty they floated with ease — and were likely pulled into currents that led them to the Texas coast,
Tunnell hasn’t found a single cent in any of the 60 piggy banks he’s retrieved, and warned aspiring treasure hunters not to get their hopes up.
Even with decades of marine expertise under his belt, Tunnell can’t say for certain why the banks are turning up in droves.
“Maybe the Gulf is just saving up for something big, one pig at a time,” Tunnell suggested in a column with the Caller Times.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Any current sea in them?
there’s nothing like a good pun.
and that was nothing like a good pun... it was Great!
“thee-ah-thee-ahh-’That’s All, Folks!!”
Signed: Porky le Pique!
...excellent.
They are Scottish piggy banks. Put money in but cannot spend it.
I built one for my Grandpa a long time ago. Welded thick Aluminum plate together and a slot on top.
“You just had to turn them upside down and shake”
We stuck a butter knife in the slot. Lines up the coins.
I think we may have done that, too.
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