Tiny little whatsit

Found this amongst jewellery I inherited. I've put it next to the farthing coin to give an idea of size. It has a word, or a series of letters across the upper body. The letters are 'Fumsup' maybe - its difficult to tell as it's so small. Then down the middle of the back there looks to be letters and numbers, like a serial number. There is no head though.
Thanks

 

Hi and WELCOME, Thistle!! Happy to have you here!!!! As SO many members use cell phones here now, they can't see the thumbnail images on them well. Could you please go back to EDIT, and select the FULL IMAGE tab/button? It would be MOST appreciated by ALL!!!!! Thank You!!! This may help you:

 

Just put the word Fumsup in your favorite search engine and you'll find information about your item.

Here's the first result to get you started: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumsup

 

Welcome Thistle.
It is called a fumsup, as it says. It would have had a wooden head, and a ring to hang it on a necklace or bracelet. Fumsup is from 'thumbs up', the wood was to knock on or touch for good luck. It is a good luck charm which female relatives of soldiers wore, especially during WW I. Thumbs up and touch wood for your loved one in a perilous situation.
I have a silver one (with wooden head) on a charm necklace I got from my grandmother.

 

Here is some more on the background:
http://mrssymbols.blogspot.nl/2011/12/lucky-touchwoodfumsup-charm.html

 

Hi again Thistle....I hope you don't mind that I've "zero-ed" in on your image a bit this time so others can get a better look to comment on it.....WHOA!!!!!!! Looks like @Any Jewelry beat me to the punch!!!!!! Good Job AJ!!!!

 

Welcome!
Please do, always, what Aquitaine has shown you.

 

Cool read, AJ!!! I thought it had a kind of "Kewpie-ish" look to it!!

 

Thank you everyone for such quick resonses and information. What a friendly site. And what a lucky find of mine too. So small and yet so important a job for him to keep the soldiers safe.

 

You can give him a new head, maybe use a wooden bead.
The head of my fumsup is the same shape as the one in the link I gave, but mine is brown wood and has little holes for the eyes. If I can find him (so much 'stuff'), I'll take a picture.

 

Actually, now I know what it is and have seen pictures I do have the head, I thought it was a bead from a necklace to begin with. Can't make out any feature but maybe they were originally painted or drawn on so have probably faded through time.

 

Oh, very good that you've got the original head, great. They usually wouldn't be painted, traditionally you touch unpainted wood for luck.
The arms can move so he can give the thumbs up sign. If the arms on yours are stuck, just try to push against them very gently.

 

Interesting....his hands do look to be permanently attached....molded....to the body, but his shoulder joints almost DO look movable.....perplexing!!!!

 

Yes, he can give you the thumbs up.
As a child I always tried to push the arms all the way up next to his head, which you shouldn't do of course. I have mended my ways.

 

His hands do move up and down. Just the slight problem of his head not being attached to his shoulders