Hi All, Hard to believe… I had be looking for a solid silver snuff and a friend of mine has a lot of silver items. He agreed to a trade and here I am using a antique silver snuff Box made in 1844. It was made in Birmingham, England by Thomas Shaw. It is engine turned and highly decorated in a simple and elegant style. The 165 year old box now carries one of the newest snuffs in the world: Toque Coke. It is 3.5 inches x 2 inches and is about .75 inches deep. Needless to say it holds a lot of snuff. Looks like new with a tight lid, Wow!

Very nice indeed!

It is a amazing how new it looks. Must have been in storage somewhere for most of those years. Now, it is back doing what it was made for.

Congrats!! A very nice little piece of history!

Nice one!

Wow thats a beauty, congrats.

Man that is a beauty. Inspires me to find a wonderfull snuff box.

Perfect. I got something similar form Ebay, what did you pay if you don’t mind me asking?

That’s very cool. It’s a beautiful box, and a little piece of history.

Oh, that’s gorgeous, and a real find. I’m jealous!

I would love to own a box like this. Unfortunatily they are very scares and to find one in such mint condition requires a lot of luck. A friend of mine, who is a manufacturing jeweller, offered to make me one. I will now show him this pictures and maybe he will be able to copy it. Btw, I like the little smash boxes from Dholakia but had problems pinching from it because of my thick fingers. I’ve now found the solution to that problem: Just press the sides, it becomes oblong and it’s easy to get your fingers inside of it.

Thank you for your wonderful comments. I have to say that it keeps my snuff fresh and flavorful. Not bad for such an old piece. To Snuffster I traded for this box, but on Ebay, it would go for over $300.00 Since it is hallmarked, made by a known Silversmith and it’s subtle design/condition is 98 percent perfect. The shape it is in for such an old piece is the key element that would drive the price up.

Silver is a great material for snuff boxes an my own of similar age and type keeps the snuff in mint condition, well done indeed…

Very nice bigbuyer, is that a gilded interior or just the way the reflection is?

Hi Troutstroker, It is gilded a gold color inside. And the finish inside is a good as the outside.

why does silver make snuff awesome??? snuff smells better off of my silver fake antique spoon.

The interior of your snuffbox is washed with high karat gold. Silver will oxidize and the smell tarnishes the snuff. The best silver snuff boxes all have a gold wash inside since gold does not tarnish. I’ve yet to see a modern box sport this refinement. Your box looks like a very fine antique piece indeed.

So Phillip, would you recommend routine cleaning of a silver interior box? I like shiny silver.

bob, silver is antiseptic and has many health benefits. Colloidal silver is a marvel.

Do you want to turn into the next Blue Man Trout?

That, my friend, is a gem! Congratulations!

Thank you all for the kind comments! I have just gone a week with it and I am very pleased. I really am surprised at how good the snuff stays in it. Just trying to take care to not bang it around.

BAD TRADER My snuff box is now gone… Had to undo the trade since my “friend” changed his mind. He got angry about it and I wish he just never traded it to me. Now, I sense a strong feeling of loss and confusion since I never undo a trade. Oh, Well I think I will cheer up with a few snuffs.

What was there to get angry about?

Oh dear… a taker backer… (For those familiar with Rugrats)

LOL! You watched Rugrats? I used to love that show. It went downhill once Nickelodeon sold it off. Wow, memories.

I hate the thought of something so beautiful coming into one’s possession, only to be snatched away again. It’s a tragic thing, really, almost a simulacrum, as it were, of all life’s happiness, and even a meditation on human mortality, if one wants to go that far with it. But, as the Buddha observed: Possessions are fleeting.

You don’t really own anything.

Yes, I used to watch Rugrats with my kids when they were little. Of course now my daughter watches it with her kids… I still have the theme music as a ringtone on my mobile phone so I know if one of my kids is calling or texting

That is the coolest thing I have heard all day. Rugrats was a great show, I need to check it out on DVD.

Thanks for the words. I agree possessions mean nothing. Things come and go and you really don’t own anything. Family and friends are where it is at. I don’t know why he took it back. I am sure it has to do with money and maybe some remorse that he wanted to sell it on Ebay. He is a very rich person with an extensive silver collection. Maybe he tried to do me a favor making the trade. Then figured money is more important. I have to say, your word is your bond. There are no trade-backs using friendship as leverage. Money and friends are bad partners. Better to keep them separate.

bigbuyer your “friend” is most uncool. and when a streak of bad luck costs him 10x the value of the box he’ll be wondering “why me?”, but we’ll know why.

To give something and then take it back is even worse than stealing!! That’s what my mother taught me as a kid. He won’t be happy with it ever again.

Thats heartbreaking. Persevere though, my own antique box is very nearly the same quality as that one and was sniped very professionaly on ebay by my brother who got it for the ubelieveable price of £16, obviously we were lucky. There is an old silver snuff with your name on it out there I promise… With respect to silver; given a good seal it seems to be a nigh on perfect material. My antique box has the gold wash on the inside and keeps the snuff in incredible condition. My unlined modern silver box is not far off in performance either - although I agree the gold does give the snuff a couple of days edge.

Most uncool, bigbuyer! I’m sorry to hear about your avaricious “friend.” Who knows, maybe the box was cursed and he’s doing you a favour unbeknownst to you. Just trying to put a good face on it… if it wasn’t cursed before, his greed has cursed it now. I hope he reaps all of its “merits.”

but what no one understands is that the poodle that big buyer traded him for the box was really a peskie (poodle eskie mix). Of course I’am kidding.

Planet Bob rules!!

LOL. Thanks guys, you are cheering me up. I feel the loss though. He is emailing me more than ever since he may be feeling guilty. By the way not only did he want it back…but wanted it back that day! I am failing to comprehend…

This is no friend! Does he understand the sacred relationship between a snuffer and his snuffbox? Clearly not. And don’t forget, like women/men (delete as applicable) the right one is out there!

Well your “friend” is obviously NOT a brother-snuffer! I mourn with you! I have a very similar box from Francis Higgins, Birmingham, that I thank God OWN, and no one will ever get the chance to snatch it from me! Get a replacement box bigbuyer - it’s like losing a dog!

Oh my Snuffhouse.org community…My loss is so much more today! My “friend” put the box on Ebay this past week and sold it for $295.00. That hurts. He ended our friendship and I guess it is all about money…$295.00 is worth more then a friend to some. Hope he is really happy about that! Sorry I just had to vent. I have to learn more about personal relationships since I am not at all like this.

Well, if you are only worth $300 to him, then I would tell him to bugger off! Seriously, what a jerk. Don’t worry BB, I’d rather have no snuff box than a leech of a friend like him!

Don’t feel too bad, it may help to know that he won’t be keeping it all, ebay and paypal will cut a handsome share out from his profit.

Losing friends like those is usually a blessing in disguise. Really sad about the snuffbox though. With any luck, the winning bidder will pay with a rubber cheque. Such is Karma.