Rights Holder: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
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PURSE
Unique ID: LANCUM-A7FD95
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Late Medieval copper alloy purse bar with central loop dating 1450-1550AD. The suspension loop is intact as is the boss which has 8 slightly curved projections and may well have once held a heraldic device and would probably originally have been gilded. The length is 65mm and width 35mm probably an LMMC Type B variant, now Williams Class E1. Purse bars are a category of distinctive purses with metal frames and suspension features by which they are suspended from the girdle ... From the frame, made of iron, tin-plated iron, brass, silver or gold, hangs the leather bag part of the purse. In later centuries, other materials too were used, mainly textile. The frame surrounds the purse's aperture. Therefore it must be wide enough to admit a hand.
Purses were generally suspended from belts during the medieval period, and essentially were simple leather or cloth bags gathered at the neck.
This example has been published by Williams (2018, 7; fig. 15).
Class:
bar and loop
Sub class: Williams Class E1
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Donated to a museum
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1450
Date to: Circa AD 1550
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 65 mm
Width: 35 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 31st January 2011
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
Region: North West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Lancashire (County)
District: Burnley (District)
To be known as: BURNLEY
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams, D. | 2018 | Copper-alloy Purse Components: a new classification using finds from England and Wales recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme | London | Finds Research Group | 7 | 15 |
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