Item number: X17

Year: AD 1750-1920

Material: Silver

Size: 90.0 x 15.0 mm

Weight: 23.3 g

Provenance: Private Collector, UK, 2024

This is a type of accessory known as a “Miser’s Purse,” popular in England and France from the mid-18th century through the 1920s. This example features a chainmail mesh pouch made of silver rings, creating a flexible yet durable netted design. The pouch’s opening is secured by an expandable silver frame, allowing the user to open and close the bag with ease.

Some scholars believe that this type of purse was inspired by the medieval practise of storing coins in long stockings. Men often concealed the purse in their sleeves, while women typically attached it to the belt of their dress. The slender, tubular shape of the purse was both practical and symbolic, with a metal clasp or band securing the opening to prevent coins from slipping through the mesh. The narrow opening, which allowed for the retrieval of only one coin at a time, may have given rise to the nickname “Miser’s Purse.”

物件編號: X17

年代: 公元 1750-1920 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 90.0 x 15.0 mm

重量: 23.3 g

來源: 英國私人收藏 2024

這是一種自公元18世紀中葉至公元1920年代，流行於英法兩國的「守財奴錢包」配件。這件銀質錢包以銀環組成的鎖鏈甲構成網袋，網口是可以伸縮的銀片。

有一些學者認為，這種形制的錢包是模仿中世紀將硬幣存放在長筒襪的作法。男士多半會將錢包藏放在袖口，女士則會把它繫在洋裝的腰帶上。外觀通常為狹長的管狀，靠著一個金屬束帶作為閉合，確保銅板不會從網中掉出來，由於管口的口徑一次只能拿出一枚錢幣，或許就是「守財奴」這個綽號的由來。