I think this a pistol powderflask from a French officer , lost in battle during the French german war of 1870 , spout & dispenser on top missing , flask beaten up. any other thoughts ?
Real coins drilled? If they are all 5 francs someone invested 150 francs into it... unless there was an inflation during those years, wouldn't it be a pretty bad idea?
Nothing to do with inflation, Common practice in the 19th Century, but mostly done to make pill boxes, heres a box made out of 10 1840 silver rupees.
90% of the silver value could have gone back into maney as the scrap drilled out metal. They afre put together a bit untidily. I doubt it was a powder flask, I think it is simpley a novelty cylindrical box
I am pretty sure that hole in the top is accidental or deliberate damage where it has been hit by something cylindrical with a spike on it. As a powder flask it would be useless, too much chance of that top lid coming open and dumping all the powder; it would need to have a screw top to be secure.
Good point about the lid coming open to easy. It was'nt put together untidily , it came out of the ground somewhere in France , after been buried for 100 years + , it was deformed into an oval shape. probably been overrun by a horse / cannon wheel / carriage or whatever. and pressed back to some sort of round Original shape again. Maybe its also a pillbox , for someone who was heavy on pills. average size of a typical pillbox is 38 mm x 20mm high
THe coins rims are clearly offset from one another to give the illusion of a pile of coins. Probably intended as a desk ornament where the illusion of a pile of coins would make sense. Certainly it is a bit battered but the initial construction is what I meant It could have been made much later than the coins circulated. They'd still be readily available in the early 20th C in France.
Thank you for your opinion on the coin box , English, I agree with a desk ornament made to imitate a pile of coins . Tried to put in pencils, cigarettes , dont fit to long. cheers, Dutchy.
