“Found this among my grandfather’s things. He was born in 1924, was a doctor and served in the navy. Does anyone know what this is?”One user posted a photo of this strange object, but it turns out it has nothing to do with my grandfather’s profession.Did you guess what it is, if not, here’s the answer.
One day, while going through my grandfather’s old things, I came across a strange metal object. It was old, darkened by time, with an unusual engraving and chain.
Inside were two small circles, like frames, and in the center between them was a spring. The thing clearly had some purpose, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
My grandfather, born in 1924, was a doctor and served in the Navy for a long time, so I assumed it might be something related to his profession.
Perhaps some ancient medical instrument or military device? But I couldn’t figure out its purpose. Then I decided to post the photo on the Internet.
I took pictures from different angles.
The answers were quick to come. Some suggested it was some kind of medical contraption for storing pills, others claimed it was a device for collecting change or a nautical contraption for storing charts. But none of the options seemed right to me.
And then, a few hours later, a real expert on antiques appeared in the comments. “This is a spring coin purse! Such things were used in the late 19th – early 20th centuries, when people actively carried small change and looked for practical ways to store it.
“This box contained coins that could be easily removed thanks to a spring mechanism. It most likely had nothing to do with your grandfather’s profession, but it may have been a personal item that he liked for its elegance and convenience.”
