What makes a quality sporran?

[MacRobert's Reply]

As others have said, two sporrans are really all you need: a leather one for day wear when in tweeds and a formal one in fur with a silver cantle. Actually, a full mask sporran would do for any occasion, so you only really need one. However, a full mask is not to everyone’s taste.

If you are the groom at a wedding, a formal sporran should be fine, even if you are in tweeds.

In my opinion, you need to consider quality and practicality. For the dress sporran, I would go for silver plate rather than chrome or pewter. Some cheap chrome does flake off and never looks quite as good as silver.

Decent used sporrans with silver-plated cantles can still be found in Scotland but most have seal-fur covered bags. If it is legal to import these into your country, then this is probably your best option. They are available for around £60 to £70 plus postage for a good one, and the sky is the limit for solid silver and unique design!

From the 1950s most of these have opening cantles (a flap at the back, closed with a sam-brown stud or popper gives access to the whole sporran bag). From the late 19th Century through to the 1940s most formal sporrans just had a wee coin purse that was accessed from the back of the sporran and are a bit impractical as a bag for carrying things like mobile phones, car keys, etc.

One very practical exception is the Bonnie Prince Charlie sporran with its flap on the front with a silver plate (often a crowned thistle) and six tassels in three rows. However, again, most of these are in seal fur that cannot be legally imported into many countries even though the sporran was made before the ban.

For a traditional used leather day-wear sporran, try a well-known online auction site where they can be picked up for £10 to £30 plus postage.