Penny Drop Piggy Bank

This piece represents an interesting intersection between function, play, and mechanical curiosity. Built from a classic cigar box, the design blends several elements into a single object: a small piggy bank, a simple game, and a hidden locking system. While the puzzle required to open it is not meant to be especially difficult, the charm of the piece lies in its layered purpose. It stands comfortably as an attractive and functional object, while quietly inviting the curious mind to explore the mechanism concealed within.

What makes this particular box unique is its role as part of my teaching work. The design has been used within my Skool platform to introduce students to the fundamentals of mechanical puzzle thinking. In that sense, this piece carries more than just its craftsmanship—it represents a moment in time within that teaching journey. For collectors, it serves as a small record of that legacy: a working artifact from the timeline where ideas, mechanisms, and curiosity were being shared with a new generation of makers.

Only one copy of this piece exists, with no plans to produce more. The cigar box itself also represents a fading era. In Canada, these traditional advertising cigar boxes have largely disappeared, replaced by plain green packaging with no branding at all. That makes this example not only mechanically interesting, but also a small preservation of a style that is quickly vanishing.

Functional, playful, and historically tied to the evolution of my teaching work, this box stands as both a puzzle object and a quiet piece of documentation for the path that produced it.

Dimensions: 5 3/4" wide x 5 5/8" long x 4 1/4"