If you’re the old fashioned type who loves stashing away all of your loose coins in a piggy bank only to take those coins out from time to time and keep count of the total amount, then the Balance Keeping Bank is definitely not for you. After all, where is all the fun of dirtying your fingers with the smell of old coins, while repeating a tedious task time and again where you could better invest those minutes on other money-making efforts? We’re being sarcastic here, and think pretty highly of the Balance Keeping Bank as a time-saving and convenient tool.

This is the coin bank that automatically tracks deposits and withdrawals, helping young financiers learn firsthand about fiscal responsibility. As each coin is inserted, its value is added to the balance displayed on an LCD panel next to the coin slot; when a coin is dispensed, its value is deducted. The bank recognizes each denomination and automatically sorts coins into four separate chambers as they are deposited. It holds more than $25 and will remember its balance even if power is lost. The bank’s translucent body has hash marks that indicate how much in each denomination you’ve saved and rotates for easy dispensing. Requires two AA batteries. For U.S. coins only.

Can’t they come up with a localized version for different countries? We’re guessing the market isn’t that big to begin with elsewhere, which might impact the bottomline. If you’re interested in the Balance Keeping Bank as Junior’s last minute Christmas present (or perhaps even belated), then Hammacher is carrying it for $29.95.