Featured Could this be Amber

Looks like tortoise

 

Tortoise was what I was thinking too.

 

Hi,
I concur with the tortoiseshell.
greg

 

maybe horn......I mean, look what's on the front !

 

the critter is a Springbok......I still vote horn.....

 

Looks like horn to me too.

 

They are both keratin, as is baleen, and only a larger piece or DNA test would positively identify which it is. But I don't think it's tree sap.

 

I also think it is horn. When you hold tortoiseshell up to the light, you can see the patterns are layered and complex.
Both can darken with age. A bit of oil can bring out the colour and prevent further cracking.

The 'eendracht maakt macht' text is Netherlands Dutch. The literal translation in Afrikaans would be 'eendrag maak mag', but I believe they generally use the term 'eenheid maak krag'. Using the original Dutch term in this case is probably a legacy of VOC rule.

 

Yes, you're right.
To us Dutch, Afrikaans sounds very simplified, I think you can see that in the difference between the Afrikaans motto and the Dutch motto. The shilling shows a transitional Afrikaans, it still has the end t's on eendragt maakt magt.
We can understand each other, and although we do not have a language union with Afrikaans, Afrikaander poetry is read here as well.

Interesting that you make the distinction of Surinam Dutch. To us that is 'proper' Dutch, often spoken very beautifully. The only difference is the accent, there is no dialect like in Dutch and Belgian regions.
The official language of Surinam (government, etc) is Dutch, but Sranan Tongo, a creole language, is the pre-dominant first language. There are other languages as well.
Many Sranan words are now part of Dutch street language, just like Moroccan Berber words.

 

The same with Scots from the Scottish Lowlands, across the border from Northumberland.
Frisian, a Dutch related language in the north of The Netherlands, has a lot of words that sound English.
To us in the south of The Netherlands, Hollands often sounds a bit like English. For instance, they have an r which sounds vaguely like the English r, whereas ours sounds more like the French r. Hollands is spoken in two provinces on the west coast.

 

You're right......but I've got one of these on my wall.....& have handled tortoise shell for over 40 years.......& it doesn't look like that to me. !

 

Have you tried licking them ????
Numy num num num !!!!!

 

and what about these............made from turtles ???????

 

These are proper turtles.

The manufacture was fueled by maple syrup and poutine!