Hi everyone, this is my first post reaching out for help/advice here!
Today my wife and I stumbled upon a very old case full of what we thought at the time was faux tortoise shell. I really don't know much at all about it, but there was so much of it, we figured it was surely non-authentic. Upon closer inspection, when we got it home, we discovered one of the pieces - a belt buckle or dress clip - had a metal clasp which under decades of patina, revealed these hallmarks below, when cleaned with a silver cloth. We have been doing a rudimentary search around the internet and are struggling to date it. Our closest shot would be 1885 (?)
We are quite taken by it, and many of the other objects in the case. As yet we have been unable to find any other examples of a similar clasp online.
If anyone can advise how to test for authenticity, we would be very keen to hear. One piece in the box looked clearly molded to me. When performing a hot needle test, it smelled very fragrant (like pine) and omitted a thick white smoke. Other pieces we tested did not smoke, and smelled strongly of burnt hair.
Any advice anyone may be able to offer would be greatly appreciated.