Estate sale sporran

[ShaunMaxwell]

As the Salado Clan Gathering was winding down, I happened to drop by the Clan Donnachaidh tent to say hello and noticed they had a table spread with various hose and sporrans. These were the remnants of an "estate sale" of various bits of Highland kit that had been going on during the course of the weekend. (I learned that "Torf the Kiltmaker" had recently passed. He was a beloved character and eccentric who well known on the Texas Scottish scene). By the time I arrived, the pickings were slim, and most of the remaining items were in pretty rough shape.

I did, however, notice a dress sporran that was in need of some minor repair and some TLC. I noticed what appeared to be hallmarks on the cantle, so offered them what I had in my pocket for it ($31!) and they gladly accepted.

Here's the sporran:



And a couple of closeups of the details. I'm guessing it's meant to be some type of dragon or serpent in the knot work:





I know nothing about British hallmarks, but a quick search on the internet yielded the following:



So, if I'm reading the marks correctly, the cantle is sterling silver, from Edinburgh and was made in 1987 by TK Ebbutt Ltd.

I'm thinking that was $31 well spent, and am wondering if the cantle might be repurposed for a curly goat hair sporran.

I may just make the necessary repair on the the oh-so-brittle leather strap of the snap closure and try to clean up the silver a bit.

What do you think?

SM