1818 Piercy’s Patent Tortoiseshell, Silver and Gold Thimble with Original Leather and Silk Presentation Case

Apparently, in the thimble world, this is a unicorn!  This thimble is made from tortoiseshell, it has a silver top with gold embellishment.  The on the front is a decorative gold cartouche surrounded by flowers.  On the back are the words, “Piercy’s Patent”.  The patent (#4077) was issued to John Piercy in 1816.  There is a single letter engraved on the cartouche, it is in old English script so what letter it actually is, is open to interpretation!  The leather presentation case has fallen into two pieces, but it does fit together and the latch works.  Inside is lined, one side with silk and the other with velvet.  The silk side has handwriting, “1818” and an first name, middle initial (unreadable to me) and last name of “Harris”.  Whoever she was, she was a lucky lady!