Antique sterling silver double sovereign case. Levi & Salaman, 1899, Birmingham.

A lovely sterling silver double-sided sovereign case with highly unusual dome shape and rounded silhouette. During the Victorian period, nobility and those of means carried these cases as a tasteful way to display their social status.

Maker’s marks for Levi & Salaman, 1899, Birmingham. Levi & Salaman were Birmingham based silversmiths active from 1870 to 1910, and was founded by Phineas Harris Levi and Joseph Wolff Salaman.

Sovereigns were first produced in 1817, and were synonymous with wealth and prestige. Rather than carrying these valuable coins loosely, merely carrying a sovereign case was sufficient for well-heeled gentlemen to doubly display their status both with the extravagance of the case and the public knowledge of what it contained.

The case is solid sterling silver with a mesh insert allowing one to keep several full sovereigns on one side and half-sovereigns on the other. An unusual and rare find.

Price marked at $700 AUD.

Measurements: Case diameter of 3.4cm. 14grams silver weight (case). Total weight of 25.9 grams.

Good antique condition with superficial surface dents and scratches commensurate with hollow silver.