Lucky find. I did a house clearance a couple of weeks ago. Among the many antiques recovered from the property was this Victorian ladies vanity case. It had a set of sterling silver lidded glass jars and a MOP manicure set. It also had a secret drawer which was released via a hidden button. I found gold, silver, jewellry, war medals, watches and some coins. Included in the coins was this very scarce. Kiau Chau 10 Cents, dated 1909. Never heard of it before nor had a coin from there. Terrible pic,
I have a few of those: Kiau Chau (Kiautschou Bay) (Trading Enclave) (German Occupation) (Standard Coinage) (Wilhelm II – 1897-1914) 5 Cents 1909 KM#1 $300 10 Cents 1909 (3) KM#2 $175, $125 and $60
Great find. Especially the Kiau Chau. I collect the European colonies and rarely, rarely see Kiau Chau. I was lucky enough to get my two over 40 years ago, so long ago I don't even know offhand so I obtained it. Congratulations again on all the great finds.
There is a mirror behind the velvet inside the lid. Its now at my French polishers getting tidied up, I aim to keep it along with the coins and medals which I collect. The box is probably worth around $2000 The gold and silver scraps at around $1000 but I might keep that also.
How does the secret drawer work? Is that it (the outline) that you see on the front of the box? I have several of what are known as Chinese Puzzle Boxes, that require a certain combination of veneer slides to open. I really enjoy puzzles.
No its not a puzzle box, I have a couple of those, Venetian from around 1890. This has a hidden trigger button that releases the drawer, yes it is the one on the front.