Many people have a jar, bowl or coffee can that they toss their loose pocket change into, let it accumulate and then take it to the bank to deposit of change it to bills. Some even have an actual coin bank. This fellow is a literal piggy bank. Ernie Pig is a chalkware pig dressed as a football player. He has a football by one foot and his helmet with “GTA Feeds” logo by the other. He is holding a bag of feed. On the back of his shirt, across his shoulders is “ERNIE” and a slot for dropping in coins. Ernie is 8 inches tall by 4 ¼ inches wide, so feeding this pig would be a fun and rewarding way to collect all the stray change!
GTA (Grain Terminal Association) used these piggy banks for advertising. GTA was a cooperative grain marketing organization that began operating in 1938. Its biggest period of growth was from 1938 to 1983 when it bought and built grain terminals and elevators across the Midwest. In 1929, GTA merged with Harvest States and in 1998, Cenex merged with Harvest States forming Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives.