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Opium Dollar
A trade-dollar locket, also known as a box dollar or an opium dollar, is a type of locket created from two coins, typically trade dollars, that were hinged together to form a hidden compartment. As trade dollars circulated in Asia in the late 19th century, the lockets were popularly thought to be used to carry opium concealed in the secret compartment. An image could also be placed in the compartment of the coin making it a traditional locket. History The United States minted trade dollars between 1873 and 1878 to facilitate trade with East Asia. Trade-dollar lockets were made by hinging together two such coins to form a compartment, which could be opened by pressing on the lid or edge. As the trade dollars circulated in East Asia, including China, trade-dollar lockets were thought to be used to conceal a small quantity of opium, but an 1896 advertisement marketing one as a "secret locket" suggests that it was not intended for use in drug trafficking. Experts are not sure if the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opium Dollar Opened With Photograph
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. Opium's main psychoactive alkaloids, primarily morphine, act on μ-opioid receptors, causing analgesia and addiction with long-term use leading to tolerance, dependence, and increased cancer risk. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The English word for opium is borrowed from Latin, which in turn com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locket
A locket is a pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item such as a lock of hair. Lockets are usually given to loved ones on holidays such as Valentine's Day and occasions such as christenings, weddings and, most noticeably during the Victorian Age, funerals. Historically, they often opened to reveal a portrait miniature. Lockets are generally worn on chains around the neck and often hold a photo of the person who gave the locket, or they could form part of a charm bracelet. They come in many shapes such as ovals, hearts, prisms and circles and are usually made of precious metals such as gold or silver befitting their status as decorative jewellery. Lockets usually hold only one or two photographs, but some specially made lockets can hold up to eight. Some lockets have been fashioned as 'spinner' lockets, where the bail that attaches to the necklace chain is attached but not fixed to the locket itself which is free to spin. This was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
