Sweetest little coin purse, remarkably unscathed by time, this tortoise shell coin purse bears a monogram of its first lucky owner, E G. A traditional gift for a child at 1st communion, and often part of a set with prayer book and coin purse together, the purse meant to carry offerings, tithes as a child lived the church's sacrifices. Treasured as such a precious gift, these do often survive, but rarely in such pristine condition as this one. Full measurements noted in the photos.
Very good to excellent condition, even to the fine silk satin lining with each pleated section, the latching one for coins for the church. No bites, chips nor hairlines, cracks at all in either front or back panels on thick beautiful tortoise shell. Very slight abrasion, perhaps, but even very little of that. A lovely little purse for any collector, and from my own lifelong collections.
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details.