Featured What do you call this type of purse?

Discussion in 'Textiles, Needle Arts, Clothing' started by Snipsa, Oct 10, 2018.

  1. Snipsa

    Snipsa Active Member

    Good day all.

    Could you please assist in naming this type of purse?

    It is "collapsible" and has crocodile leather on top.

    It is a very small and cute little thing but I haven't been able to figure out the use as yet. Was it used for coins or something else?

    Thanks in advance!

    Resizer_15391926851426.jpg Resizer_15391926851424.jpg Resizer_15391926851425.jpg Resizer_15391926851423.jpg Resizer_15391926851421.jpg
     
    pearlsnblume, Any Jewelry and judy like this.
  2. Snipsa

    Snipsa Active Member

    Upon doing some further research I've found two similar items online, (one Christian Dior and one by Danier). Mine has no brand names that I have found.

    Both listings just called them coin purses. Both are stated in their listings to be from the 70's. Does this seem a fair assessment of age?

    Thanks again!
     
    komokwa, judy and i need help like this.
  3. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    I was going to say "Coin Purse" but I don`t really know much about them.
    In the US a purse is what you and I know as a handbag.
     
  4. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    I use the term change purse, but I don’t think it makes much difference. Someone will know about the dating better than I would.
    Are there any markings on yours?
     
  5. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    komokwa and Snipsa like this.
  6. Snipsa

    Snipsa Active Member

    Thank you both. I still need to check it with a loupe but no markings I could see with the naked eye.
     
    i need help likes this.
  7. Snipsa

    Snipsa Active Member

    pearlsnblume and i need help like this.
  8. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    There's something wrong with this picture & I think the seller of the Neiman Marcus one is guessing just as much as we are. At the moment I can only think of all the ways this is wrong for a coin/change purse:
    • You don't line a coin purse in this fancy fabric. It would quickly show grime from coins & would eventually get tattered.
    • When it is open to its full extent, it is a very awkward shape. One of the features of coin purses is that they stay fairly flat & thin, even when stuffed with coins.
    • Who buys & carries an accessory like this, then goes around with the whole contents of a piggy bank? Do you even carry any cash if you need one of these?
    • It looks like the interior is padded around the sides. If it is, why?
    • Why does it need those 2 little feet?
    I can't think of any way it would be useful for accommodating smart phone accessories (maybe only because I don't have one) so my next thought is cosmetics. Assuming form follows function, what function is this formed for?
     
    Snipsa and i need help like this.
  9. Snipsa

    Snipsa Active Member

    @Bronwen
    • When it is open to its full extent, it is a very awkward shape. One of the features of coin purses is that they stay fairly flat & thin, even when stuffed with coins.
    That was my biggest question mark as well. It just seems like a very strange way to design a purse. Initially was thinking in the line of cosmetics, but even there, what function could it possibly have?

    So many questions on this, if it is a coin purse I can understand why so few examples are to be found online, as it seems to be a flawed design so think it would have gone out of style extremely quickly, if it is made for something else I haven't found that thing yet..
     
    i need help likes this.
  10. Snipsa

    Snipsa Active Member

    Bronwen and i need help like this.
  11. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Another object to coin purse is that open & filled, it is like a bucket, which would tend to make it very hard to find the coin you wanted.

    I get some sense of size from seeing it in the hand. What is the diameter when closed? Large enough to hold a compact? I still don't see it as well designed for cosmetics either, you'd have to put a compact on top of a lipstick, stuff other things around it? No.

    I feel I probably don't live the right lifestyle to recognize it. How deep is it when fully extended?
     
    Snipsa likes this.
  12. Snipsa

    Snipsa Active Member

    Only a very small compact would fit. Has an approximate diameter of around 5cm and it will probably reach 7cm deep when fully extended.

    Will measure in the morning, just too lazy to get out of bed right now :yawn:
     
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  13. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    So we have your unmarked one, one sold (assuming sold) by Neiman Marcus & one with the company name on it from Christian Dior, all of them clearly the same design, if not the same maker. This interested me about the Dior one:

    I was told that the lady bought perfume " 20 years ago" before the store became Macy's and when she bought the perfume she was given this coin purse.

    My experience with premiums for cosmetics & fragrances is that they are not entirely unrelated to the product, often something to carry them in. Hard to imagine Dior giving out a coin purse with their very expensive perfume, if that part of the story is correct. A credit card holder would be more like it.
     
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  14. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

  15. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    I remember those. Had a few similar in my time. Coin purse. Change purse. Same diff. And DIOR was crazy with licenses in that period (late 1970s/early 1980s.) Even ran a print ad campaign around themed "Meet the Diors." Here's an example.

    Debora

    The Diors.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2018
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  16. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    I own still and have owned in the past, several of these. Mine were mostly bought in Spain, and are nicely made and lined. Coin or change purses, for sure. They were meant to go in small handbags, such as evening bags, to carry enough change for the loo or a cloakroom tip or whatever. Not for your everyday carrying round coins whilst shopping properly task. I use them if I'm taking a very small handbag out. Not everything can be contactless payment, even now.
     
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  17. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    They look nice closed, & maybe hold enough for most people most of the time when they are, but seem ill-suited to a small bag when filled to capacity. If it worked for you, it worked.
     
    Snipsa likes this.
  18. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    it's what they were sold for and designed as. And still are: I saw some in Spain in June in a rather nice leather shop. Don't forget that relatively high value euro coins are small. As indeed are British ones.
     
    Snipsa likes this.
  19. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    coin purse........
     
    Snipsa likes this.
  20. Snipsa

    Snipsa Active Member

    Thank you to all of you. Coin/change purse it definitely is then.

    I appreciate all your knowledge and info!
     
    komokwa and i need help like this.
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