Antique Sterling Purse
An antique sterling purse brings together solid metal work and fine leather or enamel from the Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco eras.
Antique Sterling Purse
An antique sterling purse encompasses small functional accessories such as sovereign cases, evening bags, cocktail purses, and coin holders made from silver and related materials. These items date from the Victorian, Edwardian, George V, and Art Deco periods, spanning the late nineteenth century through the mid twentieth century.
Buyers frequently encounter Edwardian and Victorian silver sovereign cases alongside chain link cocktail purses and leather designs mounted with hallmarked silver. Forms range from simple rectangular coin holders to heart shapes, mesh evening bags, and miniature pieces fitted with mirrors.
Materials and construction
Items in this category combine sterling silver or silver mounts with organic and decorative elements including leather, crocodile skin, glass, and vitreous or guilloche enamel. Metal components are frequently hallmarked to indicate the assay office, such as Birmingham or Chester, and the year of production.
Surface decoration involves techniques such as engine turning, hand engraving, and applied chain mail links. Enamelled pieces utilise translucent coloured coatings over engine turned metal grounds, while leather variants integrate stitched crocodile skin with hinged silver frames.
Several items double as miniature music lessons or tiny travelling clocks, proving Victorians loved utility packaged in gleaming silver.
Aspects of quality
Quality rests upon the crispness of the chased or engraved decoration on the silver exterior and the integrity of the hinges, clasps, and internal linings. Superior examples retain intact guilloche enamel without chips and tight spring mechanisms on sovereign cases.
The distinction between standard production and finer output involves the weight of the silver gauge utilised in the body and the presence of named maker marks. Pieces showing detailed figural scenes, such as repousse panels depicting figures, demonstrate higher levels of craftsmanship.
Charles Penny Brown·Aaron Lufkin Dennison·John Collard Vickery·Henry Williamson·The Boots Company·Robert Cawley·G. Norman·Henry Charles Freeman·William Adams Ltd·Wright & Davies·Ludwig Krumm
The Antique Sterling Purse Glossary
- Sovereign case
- A small pocket container designed to hold British gold sovereign and half-sovereign coins securely. These holders feature spring loaded mechanisms or screw lids.
- Guilloche enamel
- A decorative technique where a geometric pattern is mechanically engraved into metal and covered with translucent enamel. This allows the underlying pattern to remain visible beneath the colour.
- Hallmark
- An official stamp applied to precious metals indicating the standard of purity, the maker, and the year of assay. British pieces typically show a lion passanter and assay office symbols.
- Chain mail
- Flexible fabric constructed from interlocking metal rings. In these accessories, silver links form supple mesh bodies for evening purses.
Antique Sterling Purse: Frequently Asked Questions
What fits inside a sovereign case?
These small containers were specifically engineered to hold standard gold sovereign and half sovereign coins used during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The internal clips keep the round coins firmly in place.
Today, owners utilise these compact silver pieces to store small keepsakes, modern pills, or folded currency rather than historical gold coinage.
How do I clean tarnished silver?
Silver accumulates tarnish when exposed to ambient air and sulphur compounds over long periods. Gentle wiping with a dedicated microfibre cloth removes surface oxidation without damaging the metal.
Harsh abrasive dips or pastes should be avoided, particularly on pieces with enamel work or leather linings that can be ruined by moisture.
Are these purses meant for daily use?
Most antique sterling items possess delicate hinges, clasps, and thin chain mesh that require careful handling. They function well for special occasions rather than rough everyday carrying.
Care must be taken with enamel and crocodile skin variants to prevent scratching or cracking the aged organic and glass materials.
How do I identify the date?
British silver items carry hallmarks that include a specific letter code corresponding to the year the piece was assayed. These stamps are usually located on the rim or inner frame.
Matching the stamp letter against assay office tables reveals the exact year of manufacture alongside the maker initials and silver standard.