Imagine, you are a woman living in the mid 1800s. You don't have a lot of money, and being a woman you are always worried about being pickpocketed on the street. You had that happen once, and your husband was so upset he gave you a new little purse, a misers purse. You know that the ladies have big, double sided ones to hold lots of coins, but the small, single sided one your husband gave you is perfect. It holds just enough to be useful, and you can use the ring on the bag to hang it from your finger. Nobody will steal your purse now!
When I showed this finger misers purse to the children, they were fascinated by it. They recognised it as a purse very quickly, and thought it was very beautiful. They are used to most purses today being made of plastic or leather, and were very taken by the beautiful, soft, woven fabric the misers purse is made from. They were particularly interested in the finger loop which is used to secure the purse. They thought it was a very clever way of ensuring nobody was able to steal your money.
Misers purses, also known as finger purses, ring purses and string purses, were popular for a very specific period of time, between the late 1700s and the early 1900s. They were used by both men and women and the main function of these purses as opposed to other purses of the time, was to keep the contents, whether it be money or something else, safe. This was a time when pickpocketing and theft was rife, and people needed a way to safely carry their money. The misers purse was an ingenious solution to the problem.
The most common misers purses were long, thin, crocheted or knitted purses which had two pockets, one at either end, and a slit in the middle. Rings were pushed down over the top of the pockets to stop fingers from picking things out when they weren't supposed to and the purse was hung over a belt, pinned inside clothing or just carried like a normal purse. Another popular design, and the one I showed the children, was the finger or ring purse. These usually only had one pocket, and had a ring which could be worn on the finger. The small bag could then be allowed to swing freely from the finger, or carried in the palm of the hand. The opening on the bags was always small - you literally had to pinch your pennies between your fingers to get them out!