Misers' Purses On-Line

I suppose they were called misers' purses because it
would be an energetic job to withdraw coins from them, either surreptitiously or intentionally. The rings holding the coins in place at either end of the stocking had to be moved from one end to the other so that coins could be fished out from an opening in the middle section of the tube. Sometimes they were called sovereign purses.

In fact, they remind me of the little leather purse the father of French friend of mine used to have for dispensing coins and pocket money. Not helped by his short-sightedness, the little purse had to be brought up close to his eyes and gave the totally wrong impression of miserliness.

These wonderful examples from the Old Rectory in Banningham came up for auction by Bonhams in Norfolk in March 2004 and you can still look at all the examples in the on-line catalogue. Just click here to view.