Quality Sporrans for less money

[geomick]

That's cool! I don't recall seeing a Thomas Ebbutt sporran that recent.

Here's an oddity and for a very low price: a Margaret Morrison evening sporran here in the US for $40.

The odd part is that it has a Royal Marines cantle which I've not seen before.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20599208992...Bk9SR6CMuaH2Zg

It will be interesting to learn more about it. Should be here in a week or so.

[TheVintageLibertine]

Seal sporran, here in the USA, stamped Broadsword Made In Scotland.

Not our $30 bargains, but still under $100. https://www.ebay.com/itm/16804859792...Bk9SR4DkhL_vZg

So, I ended up buying this sporran. It arrived today and absolutely is seal skin. In terms of quality, it is very well made. I’d rate it on par with my RRS day sporran made on contract by Margaret Morrison for the MOD. It is defiantly better than my made-in-Pakistan rabbit fur evening sporran, which began shedding recently.

[OC Richard]

Margaret Morrison Evening sporran, here in the USA, $40

https://www.ebay.com/itm/39750950994...Bk9SR9ro9rj6Zg

Yes it's not stamped but the back is exactly the same as a large number of MM sporrans having their stamp, or having the stamps of various retailers. (Notice only the Labhran one doesn't have the clipped-corner press-button strap.)



An older brown "day" sporran, some nice patina, and probably by WE Scott though we're not shown the back.

It's getting lots of bids, now just a bit over £40

https://www.ebay.com/itm/35812620999...Bk9SR9zo9rj6Zg

[OC Richard]

Sporran with a very interesting reverse, stamped Caledonia Fine Arts.

You'll note the cantle has an Ian Grant look to it.

There's a firm called Caledonia Fine Arts that I've seen have a booth at Highland Games selling those ornate Ian Grant en suite sets. So, my guess is that this is an Ian Grant sporran.

$40.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20600936712...Bk9SR97zs_z6Zg

[OC Richard]

A quality sporran though not for all that much less money!

Yet it's of historical interest (to somebody like me anyhow) a WE Scott sporran with the scored back they introduced in 1953 along with their Patent opening-top style. I assume the scoring was to create a leather self-hinge more or less.

Initially these Evening sporrans bore both the Patent and Made In Scotland Real Leather gold oval stamps, but at some point the Patent stamp was disappeared but the scored back remained.

It has the higher-quality Frederick Narborough cantle bearing the Made In Scotland stamp on the side (though actually made in Birmingham). The stamped ones are almost always silver-plated and made in five separate pieces, as opposed to the non-stamped nickel-plated two-piece cantles, though both the same casting (EW2/EW4).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/33639945537...Bk9SR6rGvpX8Zg

[OC Richard]

Lovely WE Scott sealskin Evening sporran £15.

It's the model Scott called EW3, a pierced version of the EW2/EW4 cantle.

The liner/gasket is usually a strong red or green to show off the pierced nature of the cantle, however this one is so pale as to somewhat lose the effect.

It comes with a modern ornate sporran chain. As I recall this style appeared in the 1990s. (Yes I know there existed ornate sporran chains in the old days, different to these new ones.)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/19804405163...Bk9SR8KVztX8Zg

Unlike the sporran in my post above, this one was made after Scott stopped doing the scribe-lines.

[Troglodyte]

A quality sporran though not for all that much less money!

Yet it's of historical interest (to somebody like me anyhow) a WE Scott sporran with the scored back they introduced in 1953 along with their Patent opening-top style. I assume the scoring was to create a leather self-hinge more or less.

Initially these Evening sporrans bore both the Patent and Made In Scotland Real Leather gold oval stamps, but at some point the Patent stamp was disappeared but the scored back remained.

It has the higher-quality Frederick Narborough cantle bearing the Made In Scotland stamp on the side (though actually made in Birmingham). The stamped ones are almost always silver-plated and made in five separate pieces, as opposed to the non-stamped nickel-plated two-piece cantles, though both the same casting (EW2/EW4).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/33639945537...Bk9SR6rGvpX8Zg

I would say the asking price is about double what it ought to be for an eBay listing, nice sporran though that is.

There are several current listings for fairly ordinary sporrans on eBay just now, with starting prices at more than I would expect to see them at retail. But then used sporran prices have been rising steadily over the past year or so - a real bargain is now difficult to find.

At the other end of the scale we have this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/336396194157

A nice sporran to be sure. Although listed as 'hand-engraved with a Victorian pattern' the hallmarks are much more modern than that - London 2018.

When second-hand silver is usually priced at its melt-down scrap value, the item has to be exceptional for it to be worth much more than that - much more than the sum of its parts in this case. It would be a crime against humanity to scrap this sporran and melt-down the cantle, but at £1,536.70 (us$2,079.72) your hard-earned cash might be better spent on an original Kirkwood sporran.

[OC Richard]

At the other end of the scale we have this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/336396194157

A nice sporran to be sure. Although listed as 'hand-engraved with a Victorian pattern' the hallmarks are much more modern than that - London 2018.

Wasn't that same sporran recently for sale at less than half that price?

I'll have to check, but it might be somebody trying to "flip" the sporran.

[OC Richard]

Nicoll Bros (stamped) sealskin & leather "semi-dress" sporran here in the USA $32 "or best offer".

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27767417940...102140.m167418

[OC Richard]

Sadly we're not shown the back so maker unknown, but I would wager WE Scott due to the "bovine" or "pony" fur that they used for sporrans exported to the USA after the Marine Mammal Protection Act outlawed importing sealskin into the USA.

$20 buy it now.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/31781344766...Bk9SR7r3luSAZw

L&M Highland sporran, currently bidding around $10.

I can't figure out what that thing on the flap is. I can't recall seeing anything like that, it might be "aftermarket".

https://www.ebay.com/itm/19805928287...Bk9SR7r3luSAZw