Victorian Bronze Child's Rattle

With chamfered edges and textured band to the rim of the bezel, ellipsoid plaque with incuse design of an advancing figure wielding his sword above his head. 5.87 grams, 22.08 mm overall, 18.14 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 16)



Ex European private collection, 1990s. Acquired from a London, UK, gallery. property of an Essex gentleman.

Slender hoop supporting a square bezel with domed underside with incised hatched detailing, hatched band to the rim, reserved motif to the upper face comprising a four-pointed star in reserved frame with scrolls surrounding. 7.20 grams, 22.25 mm overall, 15.94 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I 1/2, USA 4 1/2, Europe 8.07, Japan 7)



From an old French collection believed to have been formed in the 1960s. Acquired privately as part of a collection in the early 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of a previous illustrated catalogue information page.

Group of three love tokens, each a sixpence coin bent into a double-curved profile; one pierced and with initials to each face. 7.45 grams total, 20 mm each



Acquired on the UK art market. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.

The custom of giving a bent coin as a love-token is known from the 17th century in England. The coins were usually smoothed to obliterate the monarch’s head and then bent twice; sometimes they were engraved with initials or symbols such as hearts or knots. If the sweetheart accepted the youth's advances, she kept the token; if not, she disposed of the coin. The tradition is referred to in the children's rhyme "There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile, he found a crooked sixpence on a crooked stile."